College Crush
by laviebohemexo
Summary: Emma Swan is a freshman in college. Professor Mills is her attractive Art History teacher, who has a reputation for being tough on students. How will their relationship unfold? SwanQueen. Rated M for future chapters.
1. Chapter 1: First Day Back

**Hey, this is my first SwanQueen fanfic. I hope you like it!**

 **I don't actually have any knowledge of Art History, I'm just making it up as I go along, so please bear with me! Also, I'm British so I have no idea how American college works, again just making it up! Sorry if it's totally wrong!**

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 **7am**

"Ugh" Emma groaned as she rolled over, her alarm ringing incessantly. She reached over to her bedside table and fumbled with the touchscreen of her iPhone, bleary eyes adjusting to the bright screen as she thumped in her passcode, rendering the alarm silent. It was the first day back at college after Christmas break and Emma was exhausted, only having just returned late last night from a full on 6 week stay with her family in Storybrooke. She loved her hometown but man, she didn't know how long she could stand the seemingly endless stream of extended family nosing into her business. If she had to hear one more question about school, her love life or her future, she was going to rip her hair out.

Emma rolled out of bed and sauntered over to the mirror, rubbing her eyes and pushing her blonde hair out of her face. She sighed, gathering up her towel and shower caddy before quickly making her way to the girls bathroom.

"Shit." She exclaimed, walking straight into someone whilst wiping the sleep from her eyes. "I'm really sorry" she said, staring up at the smiling face before her.

"Emma!" The girl said brightly.

"Belle!" Said Emma, returning the brunette's smile.

Emma and Belle had become pretty good friends in the first months of their freshman year, often wandering into each others rooms armed with movies and junk food. Though they lived in the same dorm, they hadn't spoken until Emma noticed Belle receiving unwanted attention from a douchey frat boy at one of the first Beta Pi parties of their Freshman year. Emma had quickly intervened when she saw Belle trying and failing to push away a pair of wandering hands, informing the frat boy that 'Brad needed him to go and get some more tequila.' The boy groaned, staring angrily at Emma before slumping away from the two of them.

"Thank god." Belle sighed.

"You okay?" Emma asked.

"Yeah, fine thanks. He was getting a little too familiar, if you know what I mean." Emma smiled sympathetically.

"Yeah, I noticed."

Belle looked up at her inquisitively.

"Wait. Did you just make that Brad thing up to rescue me?" She asked. Emma laughed.

"Girls gotta stick together right?" She winked. Belle smiled prettily.

"Right. Thanks. My hero" She grinned, pretending to swoon.

The pair quickly bonded over tequila shots and a shared hatred of drunken frat boys.

"How was your Christmas?" Belle asked, reaching her arms out and pulling her into a hug.

"It was good, thanks." Emma replied, her chin resting on Belle's shoulder. "How was yours?" She continued, pulling back from the hug.

"Yeah it was really great thanks. All my cousins came over from England, who I haven't seen in like 5 years, so that was cool." She said, smiling warmly at Emma.

"Sounds great!" Emma smiled back, noting how fresh and beautiful Belle looked. Belle was one of those girls who just rolled out of bed looking amazing. Something Emma hadn't failed to notice on the few occasions Belle had crashed in her room, especially seeing as she usually looked like she'd been run over most mornings. Though she didn't see Belle as anything more than a friend, she wasn't blind to her beauty, and she couldn't help but notice her long, smooth legs in the tiny pyjama shorts she was wearing. She ran a hand through her hair and pulled her eyes back up to meet Belle's, who was blushing slightly.

"Anyway, I'm gonna hit the showers. Catch up later?" Emma said, reaching out and giving her arm a squeeze.

"For sure." Belle replied smilingly as Emma walked off to the bathroom.

 **11.30am**

Emma's morning classes proved uneventful. They mainly consisted of going over the syllabus for the coming semester, her professors droning on about how students who didn't put the effort in, in their second semester of freshman year, and let their grades slip, were on a path to destruction. Pretty heavy stuff for the first day back. Emma was too tired to take any of it in, her mind wandering to what she was going to have for lunch, due to her stomach growling in protest at the lack of breakfast. She was allowed to slack off a little on her first day back. Besides, Emma was an exceptional student, so she had little fear of the heavy workload due to be inflicted on her over the coming semester. She would have to snap out of her daze before her Art History class though, Professor Mills would not be happy if she caught her daydreaming. Her mind began to cloud with thoughts of her Art History professor, until they were quickly interrupted by the sounds of everyone around her gathering their things and standing up to leave. Emma quickly joined them and began packing her notepad and pens back into her bag. 'Great, lunchtime' she thought hungrily.

 **1pm**

After gorging on a chicken salad sandwich and a large bag of potato chips, Emma wandered over to the humanities building across campus. Art History was her favourite class, and she had every intention of making it her major. She had been enthralled by art ever since she was a little girl and her mother had taken her on a trip across Europe, exploring various museums and art galleries. Her mother was an avid collector and Emma was fascinated by everything she saw. Her childhood home was filled with various pieces of modern and classic art. Throughout her adolescence she had visited every gallery and museum in her proximity, taken art classes and read every book on the subject she could get her hands on. She had returned to Europe last year, taking a year out after graduating high school to travel, immerse herself in the culture and see as much art and as many cultural landmarks as possible. She had spent three months in France, three in Greece, three in Italy and the remaining three in London, her favourite city. She was now fluent in French and Italian, opting to take both classes in addition to Art History, Philosophy and Literature.

Emma dropped her bag on the floor and settled into her seat near the front of the class, pulling out her notes from last semester and going over their study topics for this semester. She had almost finished reading when she heard the door to the front left of the room open and shut, closely followed by the familiar clack of high heels on vinyl floor that made her heart quicken. She glanced up at the figure that was striding purposefully into the room. Emma could feel her mouth run dry at the sight of her teacher. The blazer and briefcase she carried were slung onto her desk before she reached for a pen and turned to write on the board, giving Emma a perfect view of her incredible ass. The tight pencil skirt, which Emma swore, she wore just to taunt her, hugged her in all the right places, accentuating every curve of her remarkable figure. Oh yeah, Emma had it _bad_ for her Art History professor. It was extremely rare that Emma ever let a girl (or woman, in the professors case) get under her skin, in fact, she never did, but there was something about Professor Mills that she felt inexplicably drawn to. It wasn't just that she was hot (though she was _extremely_ hot), it was something about her presence, the way she moved and spoke, that exuded sex. And Emma was captivated by her.

The other students in her class nicknamed her 'The Evil Queen' because of her penchant for being tough on grades and a tendency to be kind of bitchy. Emma, however, liked that Professor Mills was a hardass. It was incentive to work harder and, not to mention, _really fucking attractive_. Over the first few months of freshman year Emma thought she and the professor had built up a kind of mutual respect towards each other. Emma was clearly the brightest in the class, and her passion and talent for Art History had not gone unnoticed. Professor Mills had made several positive comments on her past work, which had pleased Emma greatly, because she didn't make those comments often… or ever. The professor finally turned to survey the class, her dark brown eyes gazing over the sea of faces before landing on Emma's. Emma could feel her heart beat a little harder, but she never made her attraction towards the professor obvious. Playing it cool, she smiled slightly, and could have sworn she saw the corners of her lips tug upwards in return before her expression hardened and she began the lecture.

Professor Mills wasted no time going over the syllabus, expecting everyone to already be familiar with it. Instead, she launched into an in depth lecture on the impact Greek mythology had on western art and literature. Emma paused from her note taking every once in a while to glance up at the professor. Watching her mouth move as she spoke, the way she ran her tongue over her top lip between sentences, making Emma bite down on her bottom lip in response. Emma's eyes glazed over the professors marvellous body, the buttons of her blouse opened up enough to expose a hint of cleavage. Her dark brown hair sat perfectly on slender shoulders, matching dark eyes which gazed coolly over the class. She watched as she gestured to the slides on the board, graceful, manicured fingers pointing to specific references. Emma noted the movement in her hips as she walked across the room, and her toned calves, which were accentuated by a pair of expensive Manolo's. Emma had a perfect view of it all, but nothing enticed her more than her teachers face. Her high cheekbones and strong jaw looked like they had been carved by gods, her smooth skin a perfect shade of olive. And her mouth, that mouth which Emma thought of often. Full lips painted a dark shade of crimson, always slightly glistening from where she licked them, covering perfect, white teeth.

"Ms. Swan?"

Emma snapped out of her daydream to find her professor staring expectedly at her.

"Yes?" She asked, feeling a slight blush creep up her neck. 'Fuck' she thought. 'I really hope she didn't notice me staring.' She definitely did not want Professor Mills to think of her as one of the many graceless students who had a crush on her, it was totally not her style. She levelled the professors gaze, appearing unaffected by her obliviousness as to why she had been called upon.

"I was hoping you could tell us the story behind this painting?" She asked levelly, gesturing to the board, the corners of her lips curving up into a slight smirk.

Emma glanced up at the painting and instantly recognised it as the famous 'Leda and the Swan', originally painted by Leonardo Da Vinci. It was in fact, one of her favourite pieces of classic art. Emma looked back at her professor, who was waiting expectantly for an answer, her arms folded.

"Leda and the Swan." She stated. "It was originally painted by Leonardo Da Vinci sometime around 1504." She paused, glancing at Professor Mills, who nodded, imploring her to continue. Emma took a short breath.

"It depicts a story from Greek mythology in which the god Zeus, in the form of a swan, seduces or rapes Leda. According to later Greek mythology, Leda bore Helen and Polydeuces, children of Zeus, while at the same time bearing Castor and Clytemnestra, children of her husband Tyndareus, the King of Sparta. The original Da Vinci version of this painting is lost, rumoured to have been deliberately destroyed, and was last recorded in the French royal Château de Fontainebleau in 1625 by Cassiano dal Pozzo. However, there are several copies, the most famous of which resides in the Borghese Gallery in Rome. It's quite breathtaking."

She stopped when she felt every eye in the class boring into her. They weren't ignorant to her intellect, but they definitely didn't know the full extent of her knowledge on the subject. She glanced around at the impressed expressions of her peers and shyly ran a hand through her hair, before turning back to look at her teacher, who's eyes slightly widened, then quickly narrowed, as she peered at her student with intrigue.

"You've seen the Sodoma replica?" She asked with a raised brow.

"Yes, and the Da Sesto version in England also." She paused, basking in the look of surprised impression on her teacher's face.

"I travelled around Europe last year." She explained, shrugging her shoulders slightly. The professor held her gaze for a moment longer before glancing around the room.

"Well, it's nice to know that at least one of my students is actually interested in the subject." She stated. The rest of the class shrunk back in their seats as Professor Mills continued with her lecture. Emma picked up her pen and continued her note-taking, smiling contentedly to herself, knowing that she had impressed the unimpressionable.

The class ended with everyone walking down to the front desk to collect their graded papers on early Renaissance paintings, which were handed in before the Christmas break. Before Emma reached the front desk she heard her name being called from behind. She turned round and saw Ruby heading towards her, a bright smile plastered across her face. Emma groaned inwardly. Ruby was a Delta Kappa sorority girl who hit on Emma every chance she got. There had been numerous occasions at several parties where Ruby had flirted shamelessly with Emma in an attempt to sleep with her, and Emma had awkwardly deflected several kiss attempts, but Ruby never seemed to get the message. It wasn't that she wasn't attractive. I mean, she was drop-dead gorgeous. Long brown hair, incredible bone structure, curves in all the right places, full lips and legs that went on for days. She was every frat boys dream. But Emma wasn't interested in being some drunken sorority girls 'college lesbian experience.' In fact, she resented the notion, which is why she repeatedly turned Ruby down.

"Hey!" She exclaimed, bounding over to Emma and enveloping her in a tight hug. Emma huffed slightly, the surprise embrace knocking some of the wind out of her, but she begrudgingly returned it.

"Hey Ruby." She exhaled.

"How was your Christmas?" She asked excitedly.

'It was fine thanks, how was yours?" Emma replied, running a hand through her hair.

"Oh my god it was amazing! My parents took me and my brother to the Bahamas. Totally lush." She grinned.

"Sounds great." Emma replied, wanting desperately to remove herself from the conversation. She turned to get her paper, but Ruby grabbed her arm and pulled her back round.

"Hey so, I was wondering." She started. Emma internally rolled her eyes. 'What now?' She thought, raising her eyebrows expectedly.

"You're like, crazy good at all this stuff." She said, gesturing around the room. "Like you obviously really know your shit, and I really, really need to pass this class."

Emma didn't like where this conversation was heading…

"So, I was wondering if you would tutor me? Please? Pretty please? I really need your help." She pouted.

"Umm."

Emma really didn't like the prospect of being alone with Ruby. But, it was obvious that Ruby had no idea when it came to Art History. Emma suspected she was failing the class, and felt a little sorry for her. She looked up at Ruby's hopeful face and knew she couldn't say no. 'God dammit' she thought.

"Sure, Rubes. I'll help you out." She smiled defeatedly. A wide smile erupted across Ruby's face.

"Eee!" She squealed, jumping up and pulling her into another tight hug.

"Oh. Okay." Emma exhaled, laughing slightly.

"I promise I'll make it worth your while." She grinned, her eyes darkening slightly.

'Oh god. What have I gotten myself into.' Emma thought, trying her best to give a convincing smile.

"So." Ruby started, stepping forward and reaching out to play with the shirt fabric covering Emma's arm. Her eyes gazing lustfully into Emma's, who raised her eyebrows in response.

"Are you coming to the Delta party this Friday night?" She asked expectedly, pulling at the fabric of her blouse. 'She literally could not be more blatant.' Emma thought to herself.

"I was planning on making an appearance, yes." She exhaled, running her hand through her hair. Ruby watched as her hand disappeared into her blonde curls. She grinned sexily at Emma.

"Good. Parties are always more fun when you're there" She said flirtily. "I'll text you details about the tutoring thing later." She said before turning to the desk, grabbing her paper and running past Emma, winking as their shoulders brushed.

Emma exhaled loudly and looked up to find Professor Mills staring back at her, a slight smirk playing on her full lips, she had obviously overheard the entire conversation, as they were the only two people left in the room. Emma laughed slightly and raised her eyebrows embarrassedly, running her hand through her hair as she approached the other woman.

"She's right you know." The professor stated. Emma blinked at her confusedly. "About you knowing your stuff." She said, smiling slightly.

"Oh. Uh. Thanks Professor Mills." Emma grinned. The professor paused, holding her gaze for a moment.

"I was thoroughly impressed by the paper you turned in last semester. Your knowledge of Renaissance art is quite remarkable. It made some of my senior's look like amateurs." She said, handing Emma's paper over to her. Emma glanced down, her gaze immediately averted to the big 'A' circled at the top of her paper. She couldn't stop the smile that stretched across her face.

"Wow. Thanks Professor Mills. I really appreciate it. I know how hard it is to get a good grade in this class." Emma replied, grinning sheepishly.

"Well you needn't thank me, you earned the grade. As do my other students earn the grades I give them." She said with a knowing look, folding her arms. Emma let out a short laugh.

"Fair enough." She said, looking up at the professor, smiling lazily. "Well, I better get going." She said, picking up her backpack and hoisting it over one shoulder. Just as she turned to leave the professor called her name.

"Emma."

"Mm." She replied, turning back round expectantly. Professor Mills walked round to the front of her desk, perching on the end and crossing her legs. Emma's eyes widened slightly as her skirt was pushed up by the motion, revealing a pair of smooth, plentiful thighs. If the professor had seen her eyes wander, she certainly didn't act like she'd noticed, instead she removed her reading glasses and folded her arms.

"I'm working on a project with a few of my most promising upperclassmen. But, even with their help the workload is proving quite difficult to manage alongside my other various commitments." Emma nodded in understanding. 'Where is she going with this…' She wondered.

"Usually I would never ask a freshman to assist with my work outside of the University, but your penchant for the subject thus far has proved to be very impressive, not to mention your passion and knowledge is inspired. I think you may be a very valuable asset to the team. That is, if you're interested?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Seriously?" Emma stared incredulously, completely baffled by her offer.

"Yes, seriously. But don't make this decision lightly, Emma. If you agree to work with me I will demand your fullest attention for the entirety of the project. That means a lot of hours, and a lot of sacrifices made on your part. But, your assistance on this project could prove incredibly beneficial to your future… I assume you'll be majoring in Art History?" She asked.

"Of course." Emma replied.

"Well then, let's just say, if you agree, your future is set." She stated plainly, unfolding her arms and placing them on either side of her, perfectly manicured fingers curling over the edges of the desk, her chin lifted towards Emma, who was completely dumbstruck. There was no way she could refuse this offer, right? It was an incredible opportunity for a _senior_ , let alone a freshman six months into college. It may demand a lot of her time but the thought of working closely with Professor Mills was too great an opportunity to pass up.

"I'm 100% in." Emma said, her face breaking into a wide smile.

"Good." The professor replied, returning the smile. "I will email you with a meeting time so we can discuss the project and answer any questions you may have." She said, gathering up her papers and returning them to her briefcase.

"Thank you, Professor. Seriously, for the opportunity. I won't let you down." Emma said, her goofy smile still reaching both ears.

"I don't doubt it." Professor Mills replied, glancing up at her quickly before returning to her briefcase.

Emma took a last look at the professor before turning round and walking out of the lecture hall.

'Holy shit' she thought.

—

 **Stay tuned for the next chaper! :) Please leave a comment if you like it! Or if you don't, any feedback is appreciated!**


	2. Chapter 2: The First Meeting & The Party

**Hey guys!**

 **Thanks so much for the favourites, follows and comments so far! I really appreciate all the positive feedback! :) So, I've had some free time over the past few days and have boshed out a new chapter. It's a little longer than the last one, which I'm sure you will all appreciate, but future chapters probably won't be this long, so enjoy it while you can!**

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 **4pm**

 _Friday. 9am. My office. 3rd floor of the humanities building, 2nd corridor on the left. We shall discuss the project._

 _\- R_

Professor Mills' email the next day caused butterflies in the pit of Emma's stomach. She still couldn't believe she had asked her. _Her_. _Emma_. _Freshman_. To work alongside her on, what was obviously an important project. Her stomach reeled with anticipation at their meeting, and at the prospect of working with her crush for what could be a considerable amount of time. 'Crush.' Emma cringed at the word. She supposed it was a kind of a crush, but she preferred to think of it as a (very strong) attraction. 'Crush' sounded so lame.

 _I'll be there!_

 _\- Emma._

 _Does the exclamation point make me seem too excited? Too childish?_ She thought to herself, looking back over the short email. _Oh, get a grip, Swan._ She thought, shaking her head at her ridiculousness. But, the professor made her nervous. _Really_ nervous. And she never got nervous around women. She wanted to impress her, but she didn't want it to look like she wanted to impress her. Her head was swimming with a million thoughts on how to handle their meeting. _Just play it cool._ She thought, overanalysing her every possible move. She was giving herself a headache. _Jesus, Swan, she's just a normal person._ _A normal, ridiculously sexy, intimidating person… Fuck_. She thought. The woman was really messing with her head. She didn't know how to handle this situation. This had never happened to her before. She was totally flustered, and it was freaking her out. _Look. Just go in there, listen, nod, ask a couple of questions, seem interested, but not overly-excited. Be yourself. You're Emma Swan. Cool as a cucumber._ 'Cool as a cucumber!?' She thought. Jesus, she really was losing it.

 **7am**

On Friday morning she woke up at 7am. Nerves brimming in the pit of her stomach as she remembered her 9 o'clock meeting with the professor. She threw off the covers, stood up, grabbed her towel and shower caddy and headed out of her room. Crossing paths, once again, with Belle, who grinned quizzically upon seeing her.

"Hey, you're up early. Class?" She questioned.

"No, actually. I have a meeting with Professor Mills." Emma smiled.

"Oh, the Art History teacher?" Belle asked.

"Yeah"

"I've heard she's a real hardass. What did you do? You in trouble?" She asked, wiggling her eyebrows. Emma laughed.

"No, no, nothing like that. Actually, she asked for my help on a project she's working on. Should be pretty cool." Emma shrugged.

"Wow Em, that's great!" She beamed, excited for her friend.

"Thanks B. Hey, you going to the Delta party later?"

"Def! David asked me to go with him." She said, smiling. David was another boy in their dorm who had a huge crush on Belle, which she was completely oblivious to.

"Oooh, a date?" Emma asked, her eyebrows raised.

"What? No!" Belle laughed, then looked serious. "Why, do you think it's a date?" She asked nervously.

"Could be. He's got a pretty serious crush on you." Emma replied, now it was her turn to wiggle her eyebrows.

"Seriously?" She asked confusedly, her mind wandering.

"Duh! Haven't you noticed the way he looks at you with those big puppy dog eyes!?"

"He does not!" She exclaimed.

"Oh my god B, you're so oblivious! Anyway, you should definitely go with him. He's pretty hot, for a dude."

"You think so?" She asked seriously.

"For sure! You get that, girl!" Emma laughed, bumping her hip against Belle's.

"Shut up!" She laughed embarrassedly, giving her a playful bat on the arm. "Anyway, you better go. Wouldn't want to keep the Evil Queen waiting." She winked. "I'll see you tonight?" She questioned as she began to walk away.

"I'll text you!" Emma called after her as she made her way to the bathrooms.

 **9am**

Emma took a deep breath before she knocked on the door to Professor Mills' office.

"Come in." Came a voice from the other side.

Emma pushed the door open tentatively.

"Hi." She smiled, popping her head round the door.

"Emma. Please." The professor said warmly, gesturing to the seat opposite her desk.

Emma stepped into the room and was immediately captivated by an exquisite nude painting hanging on the wall to the right of her. Emma wandered over to it and her mouth fell open when she realised.

"Is that… The original Modigliani?" She asked, turning to face the professor, who noted her with curiosity. She smiled and pushed her chair back to stand up.

"Unfortunately, no. Just a very good replica." She said, walking over to where Emma was stood.

"It's uncanny." Emma replied, still marvelling at the image.

"Well I should hope so, it cost me an arm and a leg. Not as much as the original mind you. But it's my favourite owned piece." Said the professor, standing beside Emma, their shoulders brushing ever so slightly. Emma felt a blush creep up her neck at the contact.

"It's beautiful." Emma breathed, turning to face the professor.

The two women smiled at each other warmly. Emma's heart fluttered in her chest. Their faces were in such close proximity that Emma couldn't help but let her eyes flicker down to the other woman's mouth. She noticed a small scar that ran along her top lip, deeply embedded amongst the plump crimson. Emma's blue eyes returned to meet dark chocolate orbs. She noticed the professors eyes widen ever so slightly before she shifted back a step.

"Thank you." She smiled, returning to her desk.

Emma walked over to join her on the other side. The phrase _play it cool, play it cool, play it cool_ running through her head multiple times as she reached into her backpack for her notepad.

 **9.30am**

The rest of the meeting went by with nothing serious to report. The professor informed her that the project she would be working on was actually a book the professor was writing on the influence the renaissance period had on modern art. She told her that her last paper had confirmed her decision to take Emma on board, as her passion and knowledge for the subject was glaringly obvious. Emma was to regularly liaise with the seniors and gather research materials for the professor. Their first meeting was the following Monday and Emma had to bring something substantial to present.

"I was hoping that you may have some insight on the subject that the others lack. Something unique, a different angle. I want this book to be different from the numerous others out there. It's main purpose is to inform, yes. But I want passion on the pages, not just the facts. Do you understand what I mean?" The professor asked. Emma nodded.

"Definitely. I always feel, when reading books like these, they lack a sort of… Personal touch. It's like, the lights are on but no one's home, you know? The facts are there, but there's nothing the writer is telling me that's drawing me in. I want to feel it." Emma paused when she noticed the way the professor was looking at her.

"Exactly." She smiled. Giving Emma a glimpse of her perfect, white teeth. Emma laughed embarrassedly and ran a hand through her hair.

"Sorry, I tend to get a bit carried away sometimes." She smiled.

"No, no. Carried away is exactly what we need." The professor replied. Emma nodded.

"I actually have a couple of books at home that may be of interest, and one in my room that definitely will be. That is, if you haven't read them already. I'll call my mom later and get her to send me a list of titles, then I'll forward that to you and anything you haven't read I'll get her to send over." Emma said, packing away her notebook.

"That would be great, thank you Emma."

"Sure, no problem. I'll probably get started on all this tonight." She said. The professor cocked an eyebrow at her, a slight smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

"I thought you had a party to go to tonight?" The professor asked. Emma paused for a moment, confused. Then remembered the conversation she and Ruby had, had in front of the professor a few days previous.

"Ah." Emma breathed. "Yes." She laughed slightly. "Umm… It's cool, I wasn't that bothered about going to be honest. I'd actually rather be doing this than getting hit on by a bunch of drunk sorority girls." Emma said laughing. Her smile dropped when she noticed the professors smirk, and the realisation of what she just said hit her.

"Oh. Um. Not like that. I mean. Ha. I didn't mean for that to sound as arrogant as it probably did." She stuttered, her cheeks flushing.

"Not at all. If Ruby's behaviour towards you is any indication of her friends' then I have no doubt that what you just said is true." Said the professor, folding her arms, the smirk still evident on her lips. Emma couldn't help but laugh.

"Well, Ruby's… Ruby I guess." She said. "I think she just likes the attention."

"But you agreed to be her tutor?" The professor asked, her brow still raised.

"I know. I have a feeling I'm going to regret that decision." Emma sighed. "It's proving difficult convincing her that the library is a more appropriate place to study than her room." Emma paused. _Is this conversation appropriate?_ She thought. I mean, the obvious subtext was how Ruby wanted to have sex with her. _Maybe I pushed it too far…_ Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of rich laughter coming from the Professor. Emma smiled at the sound, it was low, husky and _really fucking sexy._

"That doesn't surprise me. Judging from her work I'd say she doesn't even know where the on campus library is." She laughed, clamping a hand over her mouth in shock when she realised what she'd said. Emma's eyes widened and her mouth dropped open slightly.

"Ooh, that was cold." She said, then burst out laughing. The teacher began to laugh behind her hand. Her dark brown eyes glittering.

"I should not have said that." She said, trying to stifle her laughter.

"It's cool. I won't tell anyone. It'll be our little secret." Emma said with a wink, standing up and gathering her things. It had sounded a little flirty, but, whatever. No harm in that, right?

'Right, so. I'll see you on Monday at 5?" Emma said.

"Right." Replied the professor, holding out her hand. Emma glanced down at her elegant fingers and noticed there was no wedding ring. She smiled to herself and took her hand in her own, shaking it lightly. She felt electricity course through her fingers at their touch. Glancing up she noticed the professor giving her an curious look before they let go of each other's hands.

"Bye." Emma smiled, turning to walk out of the office.

"Goodbye Emma." Professor Mills replied, sitting back down in her chair.

 _Damn._ She thought as she closed the door. She could have sworn there was some chemistry there. 

* * *

**7.30pm**

 _Hey. We're meeting outside Delta at 9.30. You in? -B_

Emma glanced down from her laptop at her phone. She'd been working for the last few hours on Professor Mills' project and was getting some really good stuff together. _Shit._ She thought. She had completely forgotten to text Belle that she wasn't going to the party.

 _Shit. Really sorry B, totally forgot to text you. I can't make it. Have to start working on Prof. Mills' project. - E_

 _What! Seriously? Can't you come for a couple of hours? :( I can't go with just David!_ She replied.

Emma sighed. She probably could afford to go for a little while, but honestly, she really didn't feel like it.

 _Pretty please :(:(:(_

Another text from Belle came through. Emma hated disappointing her friends. She was about to text back when there was a knock at her door. She got up and opened it. Belle was standing in her doorway with a pouty look on her face.

"Pleaseeee!" She whined. "You have to come!" Emma rolled her eyes and sighed.

"Seriously B, I have so much work to do. You know The Evil Queen's reputation. I can't fuck this up!" She said, groaning.

"Come on. Can't you just leave it for like an hour. Just an hour! Just until I've had a little bit to drink and I don't feel so awkward. Please!" She said, pouting and batting her eyelashes. Emma couldn't resist her adorable face. She groaned.

"Ugh, fine! One hour, that's it. Then I have to get back. Deal?"

"Deal." Belle agreed, grinning.

"Right, shall I come get you from your room at 9.30?" Emma asked.

"Actually, I'm getting ready at Elsa's. So, I'll meet you outside Delta if that's cool?" She asked hopefully.

"Yeah, sure. Okay, I have to finish some more work before I get ready, so I'll see you then." Emma said, closing her door. "Laters, B."

"Bye!" She called back as the door closed. Emma sighed and walked back over to her desk.

 **9.20pm**

Emma applied the finishing touches to her make up and stood back to survey herself. She looked pretty good, she had to admit. She always looked good with a smoky eye and dark red lipstick. She was wearing black skinny jeans rolled up at the ankles, a white blouse with a few buttons undone, her lacy black bralette just visible underneath, and brown loafers. She flipped her blonde hair over to the side and reached for her black leather jacket, putting it on as she walked out the door.

 **9.40pm**

Emma approached the Delta house at around 9.40 and saw Belle, Elsa and David stood outside waiting for her. Belle grinned as she walked up to them.

"You made it! I was scared you might bail." Belle smiled, pulling Emma in for a warm hug.

"Nah. I could never ditch my best girl!" She said. Belle smiled sweetly, blushing slightly.

"Hey Elsa." She said, turning to the blonde and giving her a hug.

"Hey! You look hot!" She said, staring Emma up and down.

"Thanks." Emma laughed.

"Nolan." She smiled, turning to the handsome blonde and wrapping an arm around his neck too.

"What's up, Em?" He asked.

"Nothing much, just preparing myself for another night of potential debauchery." She said, grinning.

"Belle said you probably weren't gonna stay long?" He frowned.

"Yeah. I wasn't referring to me." She said, eyeing him, then Belle. His eyes widened as he let out a nervous laugh.

"Ha. Yeah." He said, rubbing the back of his neck. Emma raised an eyebrow.

"Shall we?" She said, gesturing to the house.

"Let's do it!" Said Elsa.

She could hear the music thumping from down the street. 'Omen' by Disclosure was blaring as they walked into the house, which was packed full of people drinking, shouting and laughing. Emma noticed a couple of girls flirtatiously looking her up and down as she walked through to the kitchen. She had a bit of a reputation around campus for being the 'hot lesbian.' She knew because Belle had told her after overhearing a group of sorority girls talking about it at a party. She wasn't arrogant about it, far from it. She thought it quite flattering really, and she certainly wasn't one to shy away from a bit of harmless flirting. But when drunk, obviously straight girls approached her, coming on crazy strong and telling her that they had 'never slept with a girl before', it completely turned her off. As if she was some meaningless experiment. It wasn't that she had never slept with straight girls, she had, of course. But she didn't want to be known as the local lesbian who bangs all the straight sorority chicks. It was a gross cliché, and there were enough dumb frat boys around to do that anyway. No, Emma wasn't interested in some drunken hook-up with a random girl at a party.

"Yo, Em. Beer?" David called over to her.

"God yes." She said. Plucking the red cup from his hands and drinking a few big gulps.

"EMMA!" She heard a voice squeal from across the room. Emma peered over her cup and saw Ruby bounding towards her, her breasts barely contained by the tiny crop top she was wearing. All the guys were staring at her chest as she bounced over. Emma groaned.

"Hey! Oof." She said as Ruby enveloped her into another bone crushing hug, causing some of her beer to spill onto the floor.

"Oops, sorry." Ruby giggled. "I've already had quite a few shots. What are you drinking, beer?" She asked, wrinkling her nose.

"Um, yeah. Want some?" Emma asked, offering her the cup.

"Ew, no thanks. Even the smell makes me gag." She said, pushing the cup back towards her. Emma took another sip and stared levelly at Ruby, who was looking her up and down.

"Fuck, Em. You look so hot. You always look hot, but you look _really_ hot tonight." She said, biting her lip and gazing lustfully at Emma.

"Uh, thanks Rubes. You look good too." She said sheepishly, trying to think of a way out of the conversation.

"I'm looking forward to our tutoring session next week." Ruby said coyly.

"Yeah, cool. Hey, so, I can't stay long and I promised Belle I'd hang with her, so I'll catch you later, okay?" Ruby frowned.

"Belle?" She asked. "The pretty brunette?"

"Uh, yeah. Why?" Emma asked.

"She has a crush on you." Ruby smirked. Emma's eyes widened and she burst out laughing.

'What?" She cried. "No she doesn't! That's ridiculous. We're just good friends, and besides, she's totally straight."

"Who's straight?" A voice called from behind her. Emma whipped round and saw Belle standing beside her, smiling.

"Oh, uhhh… uhh, Elsa." She stammered, covering her tracks.

"Oh." Belle said thoughtfully. "Actually, I wouldn't be so sure. I think she might have a little bit of a crush on you, Em." She said, bumping her shoulder playfully.

"Jesus" Emma breathed. Was there no escape from these girls? Ruby was grinning up at her devilishly.

"Looks like you're a bit of a hot commodity around here, Em." Ruby said, raising her eyebrows and glancing at Belle. Belle's eyes widened and she laughed a little awkwardly.

"Ha, yeah. Anyway, there's a group of people playing spin the bottle. We were thinking of joining. You game?" She grinned.

"Seriously? Isn't that kind of lame."

"Oh come on, don't be boring. It will be fun!" Belle said, smiling.

"Okay fine, I'll be there in a sec." She replied. Belle wandered off to find the others.

"Oh yeah, she's totally into you." Ruby said, scoffing after Belle.

"No way dude. We're friends. She's _straight_." Emma said adamantly.

"Oka-ay, whatever you say." Belle said sarcastically, holding up her hands "But if we lived in the same dorm, I would definitely be a frequent visitor to your room." She whispered sexily in Emma's ear before walking away. Emma watched her bounce off. _She does have a really nice ass._ She thought to herself before shaking her head to snap out of it.

Emma wondered if Ruby was right. No, she couldn't be. Belle was _straight_. She and Belle were friends. _Just friends_. She had never flirted with her, or given her any indication that she was into her… had she? No. Ruby was being ridiculous she concluded as she wandered over to the sofas, Belle waving her over. Emma sighed and plopped herself down next to the brunette, who bumped her on the shoulder, grinning.

"You okay?" Belle asked.

"Yeah, fine. Ruby's just-"

"A bitch." Belle finished for her. Emma laughed

"Ooh, not a fan, B?" Emma asked, nudging her.

"I just don't trust her." She shrugged.

"Fair enough." Emma shrugged back. There was a pause before Belle launched in.

"And it's so obvious how desperate she is to get in your pants. It's gross. Seriously, I'm surprised she didn't just start taking off her clothes in front of you, there and then… Well, what little clothes she was wearing, anyway." Belle said with a look of disgust.

"Yeah, I don't think subtle is in her vocabulary." Emma grinned. Belle grinned back before their attention turned to the game that was going on in front of them.

"Okay! So, Elsa aaand" called Aurora, everyone watching the bottle at the centre of the group as it spun. "Killian!" She exclaimed.

"Aw, yeah!" Killian exclaimed, high fiving his fellow frat buddies. _What a dumbass_ thought Emma, glancing over at Elsa, who was grimacing.

"Come to daddy!" He said, crawling forward with his eyes closed and lips puckered.

"Why did I agree to play again?" Elsa groaned, looking at Belle for support.

"Sorry." Belle giggled.

Elsa closed her eyes, frowning as she made her way over to Killian. Everyone cheered as they kissed. Elsa quickly pulled away and began wiping at her lips. Belle and Emma were clinging onto each other from laughing so hard.

"Fuck you guys." Elsa said grumpily, slumping back in her seat.

"Careful Elsa, you might need to get tested for herpes." Emma said, causing Belle to erupt into another fit of giggles. Elsa glared at her, but she could see a smile forming on her lips.

"Okay, next!" Aurora called out. She spun the bottle and it landed on

"David!" She said. "Aaaand" the bottle was spun again. "Belle!"

Belle laughed awkwardly, blushing slightly. The tips of David's ears went bright pink as he smiled at her nervously. Belle leaned in and they shared a cute kiss. Everyone cheered again.

"Boring!" Said Aurora. "Come on people, where's the heat?" She cried. "Next!"

Belle blushed as they pulled apart and glanced at her feet. Emma nudged her softly, giving her googly eyes. Belle nudged her back a little harder. "Shut up." She whispered.

"Emma!" Aurora cried. Emma looked up confusedly upon hearing her name, then looked down at the bottle and saw it was pointing to her. _Oh christ_ she thought. She glanced around the circle and saw a few girls eagerly awaiting the next spin.

"Aaand" Aurora looked up at her. "Belle." Emma swallowed. She felt Belle stiffen beside her.

"No fair! Belle already had her kiss." Came a voice.

"Yeah, spin again!" Came another.

"No." Came a voice from outside the circle. "It landed on Belle so she has to kiss Emma. Those are the rules." Emma looked up and saw Ruby watching Belle with an evil smirk. _Fucking Ruby_ she thought, glaring at her. Belle turned to Emma with a slight look of panic.

"B, it's cool. It's just a kiss." Emma said reassuringly. Belle nodded and glanced nervously at Emma's lips. Emma reached a hand up to Belle's neck and softly pulled their faces close.

"You okay?" She whispered. Belle nodded.

Their lips met briefly. Belle's were soft, tentative and unsure at first, brushing gently over Emma's. Emma pressed a little harder and she swore she heard a low moan escape Belle's throat. Belle pressed forward into Emma and parted her lips. Emma gripped Belle's neck more firmly, causing the kiss to intensify. She nibbled gently at Belle's lower lip, who reached out a soft hand to cup her cheek as she ran her tongue along Emma's lower lip. Emma opened her mouth slightly and their tongues met, slowly twirling together. Emma moaned quietly and placed her free hand onto Belle's hip, squeezing softly. But before things got any further someone beside them coughed. Pulling them both out of their trance.

"Now that's what I'm talking about people!" Aurora exclaimed, smirking at Emma. Ruby looked pissed as she marched off to another room. Emma looked at Belle, who refused to meet her gaze, her cheeks a certain shade of crimson. David and Elsa were staring open mouthed at the pair of them.

"I. Uh. I have to use the bathroom." Belle stammered, standing up suddenly and clambering across the bodies around her.

"Wow Emma, are you that bad a kisser?" Killian called, causing all of his buddies to roar with laughter.

"Well, if Elsa's face was any indication of your kissing skills, I'd say you need to keep practicing with the John Mayer poster above your bed." She snapped. That shut him up. He glared angrily at Emma as she stood up. His buddies shoving him around and laughing even harder.

Emma saw Belle rushing up the stairs. She called after her to no response. Emma followed her up and wandered along the corridor to the bathroom. She knocked on the door gently.

"B?" She said softly.

"I'm fine." Came a voice from the other side.

"B, come on, let me in."

"I'm peeing."

Emma tried the handle, the door wasn't locked. She opened it slowly and saw Belle standing over the sink, her head hanging. She glanced up when she heard the door open, obviously upset.

"Are you okay?" Emma asked.

"I'm fine." She said, wiping at her eyes. She wasn't crying, but she looked like she was on the verge.

"No you're not."

"Look. I said I'm fine, okay?" She snapped. Emma sighed and closed the door.

'If you're fine then why did you run off?" Emma asked gently.

"I had to pee." Said Belle adamantly. Emma raised an eyebrow.

"Don't. Don't give me that look, please. I just. I don't know. That was weird. It was weird. And it caught me off guard and I just freaked out, okay?" Belle said, her eyes watering. Emma stepped closer to her.

'Don't." She whispered. Emma stopped.

"It was just a stupid game, B. It didn't mean anything." Emma pleaded. Belle looked up at her sadly, sniffing, a single tear ran down her cheek which she quickly wiped away.

"Maybe not to you." She said quietly. Emma's eyes widened.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"Nothing. I don't mean anything. I'm being stupid." She said.

"B. Do you… I mean. Fuck." Emma sighed, running a hand through her hair.

"Seriously? Do you have to do that right now?" Belle asked annoyedly. Emma paused.

"Do what?" She asked, confused.

"That sexy running your hand through your hair thing you always do. It's…" Belle paused. Emma pulled her hand out of her hair, blinking.

"Oh, uh, sorry." She said.

"No… I didn't mean." Belle fumbled. She exhaled loudly and sat down on the toilet seat. Emma hesitantly took a step towards her. Belle looked up at her sadly.

"You must think I'm such a loser." She said.

"B. I do not think that. I would never think that." She paused, thinking of how to word what she was going to say. "B, do you… like me? Like. Like me, like me? Like, more than friends or… I have no idea what I'm trying to say right now." She exhaled.

"Yeah you're pretty bad at this." Belle said, smiling slightly. Emma smiled back.

"It's okay, if you do. I mean, I don't care… I mean, I care, of course, but like I don't mind?" She attempted. Belle glanced at the floor.

"I don't know." She said quietly. "I mean, you're my friend. My really good friend, and you make me laugh and I love hanging out with you, and so I think 'well that's that.' But then, sometimes, you look at me and it's like… my stomach does little flippy things. Or you'll cuddle me when we're watching a movie and my heart will like start beating a little faster and, oh my god I sound so lame." She said, groaning, her head falling into her hands. Emma knelt in front of her and pulled her hands away.

"Hey, it's okay. I understand." She said gently, Belle glanced down at her hands in Emma's.

"And then, that kiss…" She said quietly, her words trailing off.

"I know." Emma said softly. Their faces were extremely close. Emma could feel Ruby's warm breath on her cheek. _God she's so beautiful,_ Emma thought, staring into a pair of wide blue eyes. Ruby glanced down at Emma's lips and closed the small space between them. Her lips softly pushing against Emma's, Emma kissed her back for a moment, then pulled away.

"Belle, I…"

"Oh god." Belle said embarrassedly. "I'm so sorry. I thought."

"No it's… Hey it's okay." Emma said, reaching up and stroking Belle's cheek. Belle looked up at her sadly.

"You're really attractive, Em." She sighed.

"And you're beautiful, B. So, so beautiful. I just…"

"You don't feel the same way." She said sadly.

"It wouldn't end well." Emma resigned.

"I understand."

"Can we still be friends?" Emma asked hopefully. Belle smiled sadly at her.

"Of course, Em. You can't get rid of me that easy." She grinned. Emma pulled her up and into a warm hug. The two girls sighed against each other.

"I'm sorry." Emma whispered over her shoulder.

"Don't be." Belle said, pulling back. "Besides, I wouldn't want to face the wrath of a dozen angry, horny sorority girls if they found out we were together." She laughed. Emma laughed back, and pulled her towards the door.

"Come on loser, let's go rejoin the party." She said. Belle stopped.

"Actually, I think I'm probably gonna head home. I don't really feel much like partying anymore." Belle replied, glancing up at Emma, who nodded.

"Do you mind if I come with?" She asked. "Not like that" She laughed. "I just, I have to get back to work on Professor Mills' project." Belle rolled her eyes.

"Come on nerd, let's go home." She smiled.

They crept downstairs and out the door, managing to escape unnoticed. 

* * *

**So, that's the end of chapter 2! What do you guys think? Don't worry, there's plenty more SwanQueen to follow. Stay tuned for the next chapter! :)**


	3. Chapter 3: That Was Definately Something

**Hey guys!**

 **Thanks again for all the positive feedback on the last chapter! I'm really glad you guys dig this story. A few people noted that I've accidentally swapped Ruby and Belle's names a couple of times, so my apologies for that. I'll try to proof read a little more thoroughly from now on.**

 **Without further ado, here's Chapter 3! :)**

* * *

 **1.55pm**

Emma was packing her notebook away after a long lecture on famous French sculptors of the 1700's when she felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to find Ruby smiling down at her.

"Hey!" She said brightly.

"What do you want Ruby?" Emma replied rudely, turning back to gather her things.

"Jeez, what crawled up your ass this morning?" She answered annoyedly, folding her arms. Emma glared up at her, then stood up so they were eye level.

"You know exactly why I'm pissed at you." She glowered.

"What? Because of the other night? Oh, come on! Lighten up, it was just a bit of fun!" She said defensively.

"No. You knew exactly what you were doing, and you knew Belle would get upset." Emma said angrily.

"Oh please, I didn't think she would run off crying over a stupid kiss. And besides, she had to face her feelings sometime, right?" She replied with a hint of attitude. Emma sighed.

"Look, Ruby. It really wasn't your place to get involved. I don't know what exactly you were trying to prove, but whatever. Belle and I are fine, so if you could just butt out of my love life, I would greatly appreciate it." She said sarcastically, preparing to move past her.

"Hey! Look, I'm sorry okay? Maybe it was a little mean. I'm sorry." She said defeatedly, unfolding her arms and reaching out to Emma.

"It's Belle you should be apologising to, not me." She replied, shrugging away from Ruby's touch.

"Okay, okay! I'll apologise to her next time I see her." She pouted.

"Good."

"So, are we still on for my tutoring session tomorrow?" Ruby asked flirtatiously. Emma sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"Yeah, I guess. 5 o'clock in the library, right?"

"Right… Where's the library again?" She asked confusedly. Emma had to hold back a laugh, remembering the comment Professor Mills had made in her office.

"Um, across from the English building."

"Right, got it. See you then!" She said with a wink, disappearing up the stairs and out the door.

Emma leant down to grab her bag and noticed Professor Mills smirking at her. She felt her breath run short at the sight of the Professor looking at her. She was wearing a tight black dress that clung to every curve of her delectable figure. Emma couldn't help but run her eyes over the Professor appreciatively.

"Trouble in paradise?" She asked. Emma let out a short laugh. She paused, regarding the professor with a sheepish grin.

"Are you going to make a habit of listening in on all my private conversations?" She asked mock sarcastically.

"Well, they're becoming rather difficult to ignore. Especially when you have them three feet away from my desk." She answered with raised brow.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Emma sighed. "Ruby can be kind of an asshole."

"Need to know?" The professor asked.

"Probably." Emma nodded with a small smile. "She did ask me where the library was though." Emma marvelled at the sound of rich laughter that erupted from her professors throat. _God, she was sexy._

"Why am I not surprised?" She smiled knowingly, holding Emma's gaze for a moment. "How is your research coming along?" She continued.

"Oh, good actually! I think I have some stuff that may be of use."

"Did you ask your mother about those books?"

"I called her, yeah. She's in Paris for the weekend so she won't be able to give me a definite list until tomorrow. Sorry."

"That's not a problem. Paris, huh? How lovely. I love Paris." The professor smiled, her eyes wandering.

"Me too." Emma smiled. "Yeah, my mom travels a lot."

"What does she do?" She asked interestedly, perching on the end of her desk.

"She owns an art gallery in my hometown."

"Ah, so that's where you get it from." She smiled knowingly. Emma smiled back.

"Yeah, she's kind of my biggest inspiration." Emma laughed. "Sorry, that sounds so lame."

"Not at all. I think it's lovely that you have such a close bond with your mother. She sounds like an interesting woman."

"Yeah, she's something alright." Emma sighed. She thought she detected a momentary flicker of sadness in the Professors eyes, but it was gone so quickly she disregarded it.

"Anyway, I'll see you tonight? 5 o'clock?" Emma smiled, picking up her backpack.

"5 o'clock." The professor confirmed, returning to her things.

Emma walked out of the lecture hall, smiling contentedly to herself. Excited at the prospect of spending an evening with the professor.

 **4.55pm**

Emma took a deep breath and opened the door to Professor Mills' office, she was immediately greeted by 5 pairs of eyes staring back at her. She paused, slightly taken aback, then lifted her wrist to look at her watch.

"Am I late?" She asked, panicking slightly.

"No. Everyone else was just early." Professor Mills stated, regarding her with that alluring smirk she seemed to save just for her.

"Oh, okay." She replied nervously, walking over to where everyone was seated. She glanced to the side of the room and noticed a lone chair, walking over tentatively she picked it up and placed it next to a pretty Asian girl, who regarded her with a small smile. Emma smiled back, sitting down.

"Right then. Now that everyone is here I thought we'd begin with each of you giving a short presentation of your weeks research findings. This is Emma's first evening with us so I want her to hear about some the topics we've been pursuing and their relevancy to the book." Everyone glanced over at Emma, who smiled nervously in response.

"Okay, Mr. Hood. You may go first." The professor stated, sitting down and putting on her thick, black reading glasses. _Damn she looked hot in those glasses_ Emma thought absentmindedly, staring at her. The professors eyes flickered to her momentarily and she saw the corners of her mouth turn up slightly.

Mr. Hood, or 'Robin', gave a short presentation on his findings in Will Durant's book 'The Renaissance.' An obvious choice, thought Emma. But he spoke eloquently, and approached the book with clear and thought-provoking insight, stating it's relevancy to the project at hand. He was good, Emma noted. The rest of the meeting went on very much the same, with everyone standing up and giving their presentations. The pretty Asian girl, 'Mulan' was her name, had given an impressive, passionate review of H.H Arnason's 'A History of Modern Art', her critical analysis of abstract sculpture was inspired. She was obviously the most knowledgable of the group. Emma smiled at her as she sat back down, she shyly returned the smile, tucking her dark brown hair behind her ear.

"Emma?"

She glanced up at the sound of her name to find the Professor waiting expectantly.

"Mm?" She responded, having been slightly distracted by the pretty brunette.

"Let's see what you've got." The professor said with a smirk, taking her reading glasses off and resting her chin on her knuckles.

"Oh, right, sure." Emma stammered, fumbling with the zipper on her backpack before pulling out a tatty and obviously very old book. Professor Mills glanced at the book with intrigue.

"So, uh… I found this in a really old book shop in Florence last year. And it's uh… Well it's pretty incredible really. It's about the life of this guy called Luciano Del Sarto, who was at the centre of the Italian art scene in the mid to late 1400's. Apparently this guy was close friends with all the greats. Da Vinci, Michelangelo, Botticelli, Titian, Raphael… he knew them all. He spoke to them regularly about their work, their inspiration, their lives, and he wrote this book about the things they confided in him. Some of the stuff in here is pretty crazy."

"May I see that?" Professor Mills interrupted, extending a hand towards the book.

"Oh yeah, sure." Emma said, handing it over. The professor opened the book and flicked through a few pages, frowning.

"This is all in Italian." She stated.

"Well, yeah." Emma replied nervously.

"You read Italian?" She asked, glancing at her with intrigue.

"Yeah." She replied, holding her gaze. The professor was looking at her in a way that Emma couldn't quite put her finger on. She suddenly broke eye contact, turning the book to look at the front cover.

"Del Sarto?" She questioned. "I've never heard of him." Emma sighed.

"I know. No one has. When I asked the owner of the book shop about him she said she'd never heard of him. The only bit of information I've ever found on him was in a book about Da Vinci's life, where it said that he would often stay at Del Sarto's house in Florence for long periods of time, to work. Other than that, there's nothing."

"Can we really rely on the information in a book written by a man who basically didn't exist?" Robin scoffed from the other side of the group. Emma raised an eyebrow.

"Well, he did exist because otherwise he wouldn't have been able to write this book." She said sarcastically, the rest of the group snickered. Robin glared at her.

"Yes, but there's nothing substantial out there about him, there's no proof that he was friends with any of those artists. How do we know anything he's saying in this book is true?" He argued.

"He has a point, Emma." The professor added, still glancing at the book. Robin looked over at Emma smugly. She felt an angry blush creep up her neck, but she wasn't going to show her disappointment.

"Well, there's proof that he was close to Da Vinci, and there's a lot of really interesting stuff about him in here. Stuff about his life and the inspiration for his work that I've never read elsewhere." She said. Professor Mills glanced up at her.

"Okay, Emma. I'll give it a chance. If you bring me some translated extracts that you think could be of use, I'll certainly look them over."

Robin huffed and slunk back into his chair. Emma smiled triumphantly and sat back down.

 **7pm**

"Okay everyone, I think we can adjourn for the evening. You're all excused." The professor said, placing her reading glasses back on her nose and going through the papers on her desk.

Emma was gathering her things when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and saw Mulan smiling down at her.

"Hey, don't worry about Robin. He's a pompous ass who thinks he knows everything. He can't stand his intellect being challenged." She said, looking over at him warily.

"Believe me, I am not about to be intimidated by a guy who uses that much hair gel." She replied. Mulan giggled. Emma glanced up at her. "I thought your presentation was really great. You obviously know your stuff." She said smilingly.

"Thanks." The brunette replied, blushing slightly. "You too. I have to admit, I was pretty skeptical when Professor Mills told us she'd recruited a freshman for the project. I mean, that's practically unheard of. She's insanely selective when it comes to the students she works with, and even if she does pick you it's basically impossible to please her. But listening to you talk today. I mean, wow…" She smiled, Emma smiled back embarrassedly. "She was definitely right to pick you, and it's weird… I think she actually likes you, which is crazy because she doesn't like anyone. She actually looked interested in what you had to say… Honestly, at one point, he looked so pissed I thought Robin's head was going to explode." She laughed. Emma was trying to fight back the grin that was threatening to take over her face. _Wow._ She thought. Did Professor Mills really like her that much? She tried not to read too much into it. "And I thought that book sounded really interesting, I'd love to read it… You know, if it was in English." Mulan finished.

"Well, I could translate the really juicy bits for you, if you wanted? Maybe over coffee sometime?" She asked. Mulan looked up at her, blushing.

"Really?" She asked. Emma nodded. "Yeah, I would like that." She replied with a shy smile. "It's so cool that you know Italian. My parents always pushed me to speak a third language, but I was never into it." She continued.

"What other language do you speak?" Emma asked interestedly.

"Chinese." She smiled.

"Well, that's pretty impressive. I don't think I could ever learn Chinese."

"Well it's pretty easy when you learn it from birth." She shrugged, smiling. Emma laughed softly.

"Yeah, that does give you a slight advantage." She replied.

"Anyway, I better head off. Lots of work to do." She sighed. "It was nice to meet you, I'll see you around."

"See you." Emma smiled after her as she walked away. She had just begun packing her things away when she heard Robin's voice over by Professor Mills' desk. She paused for a moment to listen.

"Hey, so Regina. I was wondering if you maybe wanted to grab a coffee sometime?" He asked nervously, his hands shoved into his pockets. She looked up at him slowly with a raised eyebrow. He took a hand out of his pocket and reached up to rub the back of his neck.

"Uhh… um… I mean so we could go over some of the research together. You know but uhh… just the two of us and uh, with, uh… coffee?" He attempted.

"I hardly think that would be appropriate Mr. Hood. And it's Professor Mills." She replied with a deadpan tone, returning to the notes on her desk.

"No, of course not. You're right. Sorry Professor." He stuttered. Turning on his heel and rushing out of the room as quickly as he could. Emma was smirking to herself as he brushed past her, the tips of his ears bright pink.

"Ouch." Emma said, still packing away her things.

"It seems you're not the only one with co-ed crush problems, Ms. Swan." The professor replied nonchalantly.

"Apparently." Emma smirked. The brunette glanced up at her with a small smile.

"The book." She said. "I'd be lying if I said I'm not intrigued. I would very much like to read it."

"I can lend it to you." Emma offered, reaching to unzip her backpack.

"As much as I appreciate the offer, I can't read Italian." She stated. Emma paused.

"Ah." She said. "Well… I could come back here anytime and read through it with you. Maybe not the whole thing, but the bits which I think you would find interesting." She offered.

"I couldn't ask you to give up any more of your time for me, Ms. Swan." She retorted.

"I don't mind. Honestly, I would feel bad if you had to live your life never knowing what was in this book." She replied, holding it up tauntingly.

"That good, huh?" The professor smirked.

"Oh, yeah. There's some serious juice in these pages." She answered with a wink. The professor laughed. _Again with that laugh_ thought Emma.

"Alright, Ms. Swan. I'll take you up on your offer. How does Thursday evening sound to you?" Emma tried to recall if she had any plans on Thursday. Even if she did, she would have cancelled them.

"Sure, Thursday works for me. We could grab a coffee?" Emma asked seriously, then laughed when she saw her Professor's raised brow.

"I'm kidding." She said, holding out her hands out in defence.

"Very funny Ms. Swan." The professor replied with a roll of her eye. "Be here for 6pm, okay?"

"Sure thing. See you later." She called, turning to walk out of the office.

"Goodbye, Emma." The professor smiled after her. Shaking her head as she closed the door. _That girl was certainly something_. She thought to herself.

* * *

 **5.05pm**

Every eye in the library turned to Ruby as she bounded towards Emma, wearing a tiny vest and even tinier shorts, sipping on an iced latte. Emma raised an eyebrow.

"Hey, Em!" She said brightly, reaching down to give her a hug.

"Hey, Ruby. You ready?" She asked, reluctantly returning the hug.

"I just got here, can't we chill for a sec?" She frowned.

"You asked me to help you study." Emma stated, gesturing to the books laid out on the table.

"Fine." She huffed, plopping into her seat and glancing round the room.

"I hate it in here, it's so quiet" She sulked.

"It's a library…" Emma replied, frowning slightly.

"Yeah, but there's like, 0 positive energy in here. Serious negative vibes." She replied, Clueless style. Emma couldn't help the smirk that formed on her lips.

"So." She said, turning to Emma whilst sucking seductively on her straw. "What have you got for me?"

 **6.25pm**

They were flicking through a book of famous Italian Renaissance paintings, pausing every so often to analyse particular details. Ruby was leaning in as close to Emma as physically possible. Every time she attempted to move away, Ruby scooted even closer, so she gave up trying. Ruby was rubbing her leg against Emma's and brushing over her hand every few page turns, Emma knew she was doing it on purpose, but tried to ignore it.

"Why are all these chicks so ugly? Like, why couldn't these people find any hot chicks to draw?" Ruby asked, wrinkling her nose. Emma rolled her eyes.

"Well, they didn't have Sephora and YouTube make-up tutorials back then." She said sarcastically. Ruby snorted.

"Yeah, right. Even highlighter and contour couldn't save these trolls." Emma laughed. Ruby was shallow, but she had her humorous moments.

"I'm bored." She huffed. "Can we talk about something else for a while?"

"Ruby, you asked me to help you study." Emma reasoned.

"I know, but we've been studying for like, forever now. I already feel way smarter, so can we just take a little break? Please?" She pouted. Emma sighed and closed the book.

"Fine, we might as well finish now anyway. What do you want to talk about?" She asked, running a hand through her hair.

"Are you seeing anyone?" Ruby asked suggestively. _She certainly doesn't waste any time._ Thought Emma.

"No, not right now." She said carefully.

"Do you like anyone?" She asked, grinning sexily. Emma detected a hint of hopefulness in her expression.

"No. I'm not really interested in dating anyone right now." She stated plainly. Ruby frowned.

"Why not?" She asked disappointedly.

"Because I'm not." Emma shrugged.

"What about sex?" Ruby asked casually. Emma choked slightly.

"What about it?" She replied.

"Are you fucking anyone?" She asked directly. Emma could feel a blush rising up her neck.

"No, Ruby. I'm not 'fucking' anyone, as you so eloquently put it." She said with a hint of annoyance. She didn't like people poking so obviously into her personal business.

"Well, I mean, like, you could be. You could have your pick of most of the girls on campus, so I just figured you'd be making the most of it." She shrugged. Emma sighed and ran a hand through her hair, Ruby watched as she did it.

"Honestly, I'm not good at relationships and no strings sex doesn't stay that way for long. In the end someone always wants more, and the other person, usually me, doesn't. So it ends up messy and there's always drama and I really don't need any drama in my life right now." She stated. Ruby nodded.

"I get it." She said. Emma raised an eyebrow.

"You do?" She asked.

"Of course. Sex always comes with drama, especially with girls, with all the feelings and emotions attached to it, it can get messy, fast. With guys, not so much." She shrugged. Emma stared incredulously at her for a moment. Ruby was actually making sense for once.

"But, I know a girl who would _love_ to have sex with you, absolutely no strings attached." She added flirtatiously, running a finger across the back of Emma's hand. _And, she's back._ She thought, letting out a short laugh.

"Well if I'm ever in the mood for a booty call, I'll let you know." She said sarcastically, gathering up her things. Ruby huffed.

* * *

 **5.45pm**

Emma was typing up the last of her translations for Professor Mills when she heard a knock at the door.

"It's open!" She called.

The door creeped open and Belle stepped into the room. Emma smiled, she hadn't seen her since that Friday night. Belle smiled back shyly.

"Hey, B. What's up?" Emma greeted her warmly.

"Hey, do you have a minute?" She asked.

"I was just about to head out. But I've got a few minutes until I'm officially late, so, shoot." She said, packing away her MacBook.

"Okay, um. I just wanted to say sorry for the other night." Emma's head snapped up.

"Belle, you do not have to apologise for that, ever." She said adamantly. Belle shrugged.

"I know, but it was all so stupid and I really don't want anything to come between our friendship." She replied.

"B, you're my best friend here. Nothing is gonna change that." Emma said earnestly. "Unless you like, went all American Pyscho and tried to axe me death or something." Belle giggled.

"No I don't think I've quite reached that level of insanity." She laughed.

"Good." Emma replied with a smile. "So we're cool?" She asked, walking over to Belle with outstretched arms.

"Totally." She replied, wrapping her arms around Emma's neck. "David and Elsa were pretty pissed that we ditched them though." She said, pulling back.

"Oh shit! I totally forgot about them." Emma cried, smacking her forehead. "I better text an apology."

"Don't worry, I told David what happened." She said. Emma raised an eyebrow.

"Oh really? When did you see Nolan?" She mused. Belle blushed slightly.

"Um, we kind of hung out all weekend, actually." She said shyly. Emma's eyes widened.

"Oh reaaaaally?" She replied with a grin.

"Yeah… He's a really good listener… We sat in his room and talked till like 3am on Saturday night." She said smiling.

"Just talking, huh?" Emma mocked, nudging Belle, who rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Yes, we just talked… But he asked me out." She said shyly.

"And did you say yes?" Emma asked.

"Maybe." Belle smiled knowingly.

"That's great B!" Emma cried, pulling Belle in for a tight hug. "That's so great, you guys are cute together." She smiled.

"Yeah, I guess so. I wasn't sure at first, but he kissed me a couple of times and it was really nice. So I thought, what the hell!" She laughed. Emma smiled.

"I'm really happy for you, B." She said softly.

"Thanks, Em" she replied, smiling shyly.

"Right, so I have to go. But we'll catch up one night this week, yeah? I want to hear all about this magical weekend." She grinned. Belle laughed.

"Shut up." She said embarrassedly. "Where are you going, anyway? Hot date?" She asked, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Ha. I wish. I've got some stuff to go over with Professor Mills." She shrugged.

"Ah, wouldn't want to keep the Evil Queen waiting." Belle said with mock fear.

They both walked out of her room. "Actually, she's not so bad. She's actually pretty cool." Emma said whilst locking her door. Belle fake gasped.

"Is unattainable Emma hot for teacher?" She asked with a grin. Emma laughed and ran a hand through her hair.

"Hey, I'm not unattainable!" She said, slightly offended. Belle looked at her curiously.

"Oh my god, you're totally into her aren't you?" She said, grinning wildly.

"Shut up, I am not." Emma said, punching her lightly on the arm.

"Emma's got a crush, Emma's got a crush." Belle sang mockingly.

"I'm leaving now!" Emma said, walking away. Chuckling as Belle's mock singing echoed down the hall.

 **6pm**

Emma knocked on the door to the professor's office.

"Come in." Came a voice from the other side.

Emma pushed open the door and peered round.

"Hey." She said softly.

"Hi." Came the response. The professor glanced up at her from the notes on her desk. Emma pushed the door open the rest of the way and held up two lattes.

"I thought since we couldn't go to the coffee, the coffee could come to us." She grinned. The professor stood up and took off her glasses.

"Oh my god. You're a saint." She said, reaching out to the cups. Emma laughed and handed one over to her. The professor grabbed it and took a long sip, moaning softly. Emma blushed slightly at the sound, feeling a familiar stirring in her core. _Jesus, I need to get laid._ She thought, quickly taking a sip of her own coffee to mask how turned on she was.

"Oh god, I needed that." The professor sighed.

"I could tell." Emma said flirtatiously, her eyebrows raised over her cup. She thought she detected a hint of a blush on the professors cheeks, but she quickly laughed it off and sat down.

"Shall we?" She said, motioning to the chair on the opposite side of her desk.

 **6.45pm**

"Wow." The professor breathed, removing her glasses and leaning back in her chair. Emma had just finished translating one of the more scandalous exerts of the book. "This is… amazing stuff." She said, almost laughing, a twinkle in her eye.

"I know right." Emma grinned.

"Really, I can't thank you enough for agreeing to read this to me. It's incredible." She smiled. Emma smiled back shyly.

"It's really no problem Professor Mills."

"Regina."

"Hm?" Said Emma confusedly.

"Regina. You can call me Regina. But only when it's just the two of us. In class I'm Professor Mills, okay?" She stated.

"Oh, okay, sure… Regina." Emma replied, liking the way the name felt on her tongue.

"So, Ms. Swan. When did you learn Italian?" The professor asked with intrigue, resting her chin on her knuckles. Emma exhaled lightly.

"Well, I learned a little here and there from visits with my mom. We'd go maybe once a year, she was fluent of course. And when I decided I was going to travel Europe last year I made an effort to learn the languages of the places I was visiting. My mom helped me, and by the end of my time there I was fluent."

"Places? Plural?" She asked. "How many other languages can you speak?"

"Well, I'm fluent in French and Italian, and I know a little Greek. But, honestly my Greek is terrible." She laughed, stopping when she noticed the way the professor was looking at her. Emma's face felt a little warmer. _Jesus those eyes._ She thought, noting the way they were staring intently into hers.

"You're really very impressive, Emma." She said with a small smile. Emma blushed even harder.

"Uh. Thanks Prof… uh, Regina." She stuttered, swallowing.

"Have you given any thought as to what you might do when you graduate?" She asked, leaning back and folding her arms. Emma ran a hand through her hair.

"Actually… I'd really love to teach. Well, to lecture. College. Like you." She replied, smiling shyly. The professors eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"Really?" She asked. "Why?"

"Honestly… Because of my mother." She said.

"Your mother?" Regina asked confusedly.

"Yeah. Well, I mean, she's been this constant source of inspiration throughout my life. She's given me everything. Her knowledge, her passion, her ambition, the ability to travel and experience life in a way that's so different to everyone else. She has this way of seeing the beauty in everything, something which I like to think she's passed on to me, and… the thought of being able to share that wealth of knowledge and passion, to inspire other people like she inspires me. Well, I think I'd have a pretty happy life." She stopped when she noticed Regina smiling sadly at her.

"Are you okay Regina?" She asked.

"Hm? What? Oh, yes, I'm fine. Sorry. I was just listening to you." Emma raised an eyebrow.

"Yes. I, um. Well, let's just say that my mother is uh… Well, she's not quite as lovely as yours." She said regrettably. Emma frowned, a wave of guilt washing over her.

"Oh. I'm sorry Regina, If I had known-"

"No, don't be silly! I'm fine, really. It's lovely to hear to talk about your mother. I should very much like to meet her one day." She smiled.

"She's flying over to see me next month. Maybe I could arrange a lunch date for the three of us? I'm sure she'd love to meet you too, I've already told her about you." Emma paused, realising what she had just said. _Way to play it cool, Swan_. She thought. The professor smirked at her.

"You've told your mother about me?" She asked. Emma desperately tried to think of a response that didn't make her sound like a stalker.

"Well, of course. You're my Art History professor, she wanted to know what you were like." She replied. _Nice save._ She thought. The professor nodded.

"Of course." She said. Emma stood up and started to gather her things.

"Well, I should get going. The line in the dinner hall always gets crazy long after 7."

The professor stood up and walked round to the front of the desk, perching on the edge. Emma stole a glance at her legs as she continued to pack away her things. They looked even more delicious up close. She couldn't help but picture her fingers running along them. Starting to get a little flustered, she dropped her notebook on the floor. Both her and the professor bent down to pick it up, their fingers brushing as they reached at the same time. Emma paused, curling her fingers in slowly, refusing to meet the Professor's gaze as they both stood up, not wanting her to see how much she was blushing. _Get your shit together, Swan, or she's going to think you're a total creep._ Shaking it off, she smiled, reaching out for her notebook, her eyes finally meeting the professors, who was gazing at her curiously, that smirk once again playing on her lips.

"Thanks." She said, taking her notebook and stuffing it in her backpack.

"No, thank you, for the coffee and taking the time to read this to me, it's been very interesting. You'll have to tell me if there's anything I can do to repay the favour." She smiled.

"I can think of a few things." Emma said flirtatiously. _Holy fucking shit. That sounded so inappropriate. She's going to think you were talking about sex._ She thought, panicking. _Don't make it obvious that you're embarrassed, just go with it._ She thought professor's eyes had widened in shock. _Play it cool. Just dial it back a notch._

"Let me buy you a coffee?" She attempted. _Cool as a cucumber._ She thought, though she felt anything but.

"You already did that." The professor said with a smirk, surprise still evident in her eyes.

"Okay." Emma laughed. "Tough crowd. I meant let me take you to a coffee shop and buy you a coffee. You know, sit down, gossip about our friends, tell each other our wildest dreams, braid each others hair, that sort of thing." The professor started to laugh. "Come on, what have you got to lose?" Emma asked with a grin. The professor glanced at her with intrigue.

"Nothing, I suppose." She resigned.

"Great." Emma couldn't stop the smile that spread across her face.

"But, don't tell the others. I don't want to break poor Robin's heart." She mused. Emma laughed.

"It will be our little secret." She winked.

"We seem to have a few of those." She replied. Emma swore she detected a hint of flirtation in her voice. The two women held their gaze for a moment longer than usual. Emma's eyes flickered down to Regina's lips, and slowly lifted back up to her dark brown eyes, which shone with a devilish glint. Emma was on the verge of leaning in when the professor pulled her out of her daze.

"I'll see you on Monday, Ms. Swan." She said softly, the smirk returning to her lips.

"Bye, Regina." Emma breathed, slightly disappointed, but not letting it show. She gathered up the rest of her things and walked out of the office.

 _Holy shit._ She thought, mentally high-fiving herself. _That was definitely something._

* * *

 **That's the end of Chapter 3! Please let me know what you guys think, I love reading your comments! :) Stay tuned for Chapter 4!**


	4. Chapter 4: What The Hell Am I Doing?

**NEW CHAPTER!**

 **I'm loving reading all your comments, please keep them coming! :)**

* * *

 **1.59**

"And remember class, the Art History gala is this Friday night in the St. Clair Hall. It's a black tie event, so if you're coming, please dress appropriately." Professor Mills called, throwing Ruby a pointed look. Emma snorted to herself.

"Hey." A bright voice sounded above her. Emma paused for a moment and exhaled. _What now?_ She thought. She glanced up and tried her best to give a convincing smile.

"What's up, Rubes?"

"What are you doing tonight?" She asked with a cheeky grin.

"I have plans." She stated. Ruby frowned.

"What are they?"

Emma sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"I'm meeting Professor Mills and a few other students to go over some research stuff." She said pointedly, not looking at Ruby and packing away her things.

"Oh. Sounds boring." Ruby replied flippantly. "Want to come over after?" She asked hopefully. Emma stopped suddenly and looked up at her.

"Why?" She asked curiously.

"Hang out, watch a movie, eat pizza." She shrugged.

"I don't know if that's a good idea, Ruby."

 _Yeah, and I don't trust you as far as I can throw you._ She thought silently.

"Why not?" Ruby asked, clearly offended.

"Because. I. I just don't." She stammered, standing up.

"Oh, come on Em! The girls are so boring sometimes, I want to hang out with someone who talks about something other than their Instagram aesthetic for once." She pleaded. "Pleaseeee." She whined. "I'll buy the pizza?" She offered, batting her eyelashes. Emma sucked in a deep breath, trying desperately to think of a valid excuse not to go, but coming up short. _What the hell am I doing?_ She thought.

"Fine." She breathed. "But I'm not sleeping over." She added with a raised brow.

"We can negotiate terms later." Ruby replied offhandedly.

"Ruby." Emma said sternly.

"Fine, fine, no sleepovers!" She huffed. "I'll text you deets later. Bye, Em." She winked, turning away and bouncing off. _What the fuck have I gotten myself into?_ She thought, picking up her bag and groaning.

"I wonder if Ms. Lucas is accustomed to hearing the word 'no'" Came a voice. Emma looked up to see Professor Mills smirking at her. She exhaled loudly, running a hand through her hair and frowning in disbelief.

"Why does this keep happening?" She asked no one in particular.

"Honestly, Ms. Swan, I'm beginning to ask myself the same question." The professor quirked. Emma chuckled and shook her head. "Are you fully prepared for this evening?" She asked. Emma cleared her throat.

"Yep. Mulan and I have been going back and forth quite a bit this week. I think we've got some pretty good stuff to present." She stated confidently. The professor nodded.

"Good. I look forward to hearing it." She replied, gathering up her things. "You are excused Ms. Swan." She added with a small smirk when she noticed the blonde still stood there, staring at her.

"Oh, uh. Right. Sorry. Bye Professor." She said hastily, rushing out of the room.

 **7pm**

The meeting went well. _Really_ well, actually. Professor Mills had been thoroughly impressed with the research her and Mulan had presented. They were both grinning like idiots when they'd finished. Robin, however, had not been so lucky. He spent the remainder of the meeting with a permanent scowl fixed on his face after the Professor told him that his work was not good enough and that if he 'kept up this level of lethargy', he would be kicked off the project. Emma couldn't help but smile to herself when he mumbled an apology and slumped back down in his chair.

"That was great!" Mulan said giddily. "We make a good team." She grinned. Emma smiled warmly at her. "Hey, so I was wondering." She started shyly. "I know it's kinda late, but how about that coffee?" She asked, blushing slightly. Emma gave her a crooked smile.

"Yeah, sure. That would be great." She replied, her face dropping suddenly when she remembered. "Shit." She cursed. "I forgot. I'm supposed to be meeting a friend tonight." She said disappointedly. Mulan looked equally disappointed.

"Oh."

"Rain check?" Emma added hopefully. Mulan smiled sweetly at her.

"Of course." She nodded. "Anyway, have fun with your friend. I'll catch you later." She said, leaving with a flourish. _Fucking Ruby_ Emma sighed. She picked up her backpack and noticed the Professor gazing at her with a curious smile. Emma's stomach flipped. _Why does she always have to look so god damn sexy_? She wondered, glancing down at her perfect figure in her usual outfit; pencil skirt, silk blouse and fitted blazer. She always looked positively polished, smart, sophisticated, _sexy as hell._ Emma looked down at her own outfit. She too looked smart, but with a slight edge. She wore a fitted black high neck top tucked into navy blue, ankle grazer, skinny cigarette trousers, complimented by black patent loafers and her signature black leather jacket. She was used to receiving compliments on her fashion choices.

"Ms. Swan. I do hope you'll be making an appearance at the gala on Friday?" She asked. Emma noticed the Professor give her a once over, which made her mouth run dry.

"Why? Need a date?" She asked suggestively, laughing when she noted the surprised amusement on the Professor's face.

"And you think you would be a suitable candidate?" She retorted with a smirk and raised brow. Emma feigned offence.

"You should be so lucky." She scoffed. The professor laughed that rich laugh that made Emma weak at the knees. She swallowed thickly and smiled.

"I do just fine on my own, Ms. Swan." The professor quipped, folding her arms.

"I bet you do." Emma replied softly. The professor's eyes widened. "Anyway, I better get going. Have a nice evening Professor Mills." She smiled knowingly.

"You too, Ms. Swan." The professor said, staring after her.

 **7.30pm**

Emma walked up to the Delta Kappa house, her mind still clouded with thoughts of her recent encounter with the Professor. She couldn't tell how Regina felt about her. She knew they got on well, but the brunette was so hard to get a read on. Emma tried not to give too much away herself, but her flirtatious comments spoke volumes. Sometimes she thought the Professor might be flirting back a little, but every time she thought she detected a hint of something more, it disappeared just as quickly. Her mind was still wandering as the door to the Delta house was suddenly wrenched open and there stood Ruby in the tiniest pair of pyjamas Emma had ever seen.

"Uh, hi Ruby." Emma said, slightly taken aback.

"Em!" She said brightly, pulling her into a tight hug. "Come in!" She said, grabbing her hand and pulling her inside. They walked through the entrance hall and past the kitchen, where a few other girls were sat around an island table on their phones, they looked up at the sound of her and Ruby rushing past.

"Emma?" Called Aurora curiously. "I didn't know you were coming over tonight." She said with a raised brow, staring between her and Ruby.

"I invited her." Ruby said with a slight glare. If Aurora noticed, she didn't seem to care.

"Want to join us?" Aurora asked with a flirtatious smile.

"No. We're going to my room." Ruby said sharply. Aurora looked at her like she was an annoying fly to be batted away. Emma smirked to herself. _I wonder what that's about._ She thought. Aurora shrugged.

"Okay. But if you get bored, you're always welcome to come hang with us, Em." Aurora smiled suggestively. Emma gave her a crooked smile and Ruby looked like she was about to strangle her right there and then.

"Come on, Em." She said fiercely, pulling her up the stairs.

"Bye ladies!" Emma called with a sheepish grin. Aurora gave her a little wave as she was dragged away.

"Ugh, I hate that bitch." Ruby spat, slamming her bedroom door.

Emma stepped into the brunette's room, glancing around. Her gaze was immediately drawn to a desk in the corner, which was buried by a mountain of scattered papers and sketch pads. Emma slowly walked over to the desk, peering at the wall above, which several sketches and drawings were tacked to.

"Holy shit." She breathed.

"What?" Ruby asked confusedly.

"Ruby, these are amazing." Emma said softly, tracing her finger over a particularly captivating nude sketch. And they were, all of them. Emma looked at them all individually, a collection of portrait and nude, among other drawings. All incredibly well detailed, unique and beautiful. Emma's mouth hung open slightly.

"Oh. Thanks." Ruby said shyly, walking over to stand beside Emma.

"I had no idea you were so talented Rubes. You've never mentioned any of this before." Emma said, dumbfounded. She turned her head to look at Ruby, who's eyes were glazing over the sketches on the wall.

"Well I didn't get into CAU because of my knowledge of art history, did I?" She said sarcastically. Emma snorted.

"No, I guess not. But seriously Rubes, you're insanely talented." Emma said adamantly. Ruby smiled shyly.

"Thanks, Em."

"Do you know what you're majoring in?" Emma asked.

"Fine Art." Ruby stated.

"Makes sense. What do you want to do?"

"Well I love to draw, always have. I'd be happy doing anything artistic, really. Apart from Art History, obvie." She noted with a grin. "Portrait is my main thing, but I don't want to limit myself, you know? So right now I'm playing the field, trying a bit of everything, seeing what I like." Emma nodded.

"I feel like I'm seeing a whole new side of you." She said incredulously. Ruby grinned.

"Oh yeah? How do I look?" She asked, biting down on her forefinger and popping her hip. Emma laughed.

"Asshole." She chuckled, pushing Ruby's shoulder lightly. "So, what's the deal with you and Queen Bee?" Emma smirked. Ruby huffed and plopped down onto the bed, folding her arms.

"She's such a condescending bitch. She thinks she's hot shit because Cindy told her she was a shoe-in for next year's presidency. Whatever." Ruby scoffed.

"Ooh, has someone got a case of the green eyed monster?" Emma mocked. Ruby grimaced.

"Ugh, fuck no. I just can't stand the thought of that two-faced slut running the show. It would be hell." She stated.

"She always seems kind of nice to me." Emma shrugged.

"Well, trust me, she's not." Ruby frowned. Something told Emma not to press the subject any further.

"So, what film are we watching?" She asked lightly, changing the subject.

"Oh yeah!" Ruby exclaimed, jumping up and wandering over to a rack of DVDs on the other side of her room. "Umm… I've got… The Notebook, If I Stay, Dear John-"

"Anything not totally lame?" Emma groaned. Ruby grinned at her, waving a DVD.

"How about Fifty Shades?" She said, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Seriously? I said something not lame." Emma sighed.

"What! Fifty Shades it totally awesome." Ruby said defensively. Emma couldn't be bothered to argue.

"Fine, just put it in." She resigned.

 **8pm**

They were about half an hour into the film and Ruby was snuggled up beside Emma. She'd tried to resist, but Ruby was persistent, so in the end she just gave up.

"Do you think she's hot?" Ruby asked, looking up at her. Emma frowned.

"Who, the boring brunette chick?" She asked.

"Yeah. I think she's kind of hot." Ruby said with a grin.

"She's okay, not my type." Emma shrugged.

"What is your type?" Ruby asked interestedly, sitting up slightly.

"Uh… I don't know really." She answered, running a hand through her hair.

"You know, it's totally sexy when you do that." Ruby said, eyeing the hand that was disappearing into Emma's blonde curls with a devilish glint in her eye. _So I've heard._ She thought, slowly pulling her hand out, watching Ruby carefully.

"Uh…"

"Do you find me attractive?" Ruby asked sexily. Emma swallowed and ran her eyes over the brunette. She did look incredibly sexy in those tiny pyjama shorts. _No._ _Don't even think about it._ She thought.

"Em?" Ruby said, pulling Emma out of her daze. She tore her eyes away from Ruby's figure to meet her lust-filled gaze. _Oh, fuck._ She thought. Before she could even respond, Ruby pounced. Pushing her down onto the bed and enveloping her lips into a harsh kiss in one swift move. Emma's eyes darted wildly, the weight of Ruby's hips forcing her down. She tried to reach up her arms, but Ruby slammed them back onto the bed. She tore her mouth from Emma's, who sucked in a deep breath. Emma looked up, panting, Ruby's green eyes were darkened with burning desire. "Ruby, what the f-" she gasped, but before she could finish Ruby's lips forced themselves onto hers once again. Emma writhed underneath her, but couldn't stop the low moan that escaped her throat when she felt Ruby's hands push under her shirt. She sighed, grabbing onto the back of Ruby's head and forcefully pushing her hands through her hair, deepening their kiss. Ruby moaned when their tongues met, battling each other for dominance. Emma gasped when she felt a firm hand clutching at one of her breasts. "Fuck" she hissed. Ruby began biting and sucking at her neck, swiping a tongue up her ear and nibbling on her earlobe.

"I want to fuck you." She breathed against her ear, the words dripping with lust. Emma growled, feeling a familiar stirring in her core, accompanied by a wetness between her legs. _Oh, what the hell?_ She thought, flipping them over so she was straddling Ruby.

"We'll see about that." She breathed.

 **2am**

Emma woke up with a jolt. Wild green eyes darted around the unfamiliar room. _Where the fuck am I?_ She thought. Her muddled brain, drowsy from sleep, was desperately trying to piece together the evenings events when she heard a quiet whimper beside her. Emma glanced down and saw Ruby curled up under her arm, asleep, completely naked. Emma closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Now she remembered. An entanglement of legs and lips and tongues and teeth raced through her mind whilst she tried to figure out her next move. She had fucked Ruby. _Ruby. Fucking Ruby._ She wanted to bang her head against a wall, but she also needed to get the hell out of there, fast. What was she thinking? She knew coming to the Delta house was a bad idea, she knew that Ruby was going to try something, and she had just foolishly let it happen. Now what? _Now you're going to have to deal with the aftermath._ She thought, kicking herself. _You just couldn't keep it in your pants, could you, Swan?_ Emma sucked in a short breath and pulled her arm out from under Ruby, as slowly and as gently as humanly possible. Ruby whimpered again and turned the other way. Emma held her breath and waited until she saw Ruby's body rise and fall with even breaths. _Thank fuck._ She thought, slowly lifting up the covers and slipping out of the bed. Emma glanced around the floor, searching for her clothes, which were scattered around the room. Creeping quietly she gathered up her shirt, jeans and shoes, quickly pulling on her underwear before she made her way to the door. She stole a glance back at Ruby to make sure she was still sleeping. When she decided it was safe, she slowly opened the door, edged out and closed it behind her. She exhaled loudly as she heard the door click in place. Still in her underwear she crept down the stairs. She was tip-toeing past the kitchen when she heard someone quietly clear their throat. Emma stopped dead in her tracks and turned to find Aurora sitting at the kitchen table, working on her laptop.

"I didn't think dine and dash was your style, Swan." She smirked. Emma closed her eyes and straightened her posture. Aurora's eyes glazed over Emma's half naked body, her eyebrows raising appreciatively.

"Can't say I blame you, though. Most people who spend too much time around Ruby end up running as fast as possible in the other direction." She quipped.

"Hey, it's not like that." Emma said defensively. Aurora peered at her over her glasses.

"Oh no? What's it like then?" She asked condescendingly.

"It's…" Emma sighed because, well, she did have a point, but Aurora was being an asshole and it's not like Ruby was _that bad._

"Thought so." Aurora said, turning back to her laptop.

"Look, Ruby's… Well… It doesn't matter. The point is, this is nothing to do with her." Emma stated, pulling on her jeans. She paused, sighing. "I don't want her to feel bad, I just don't do sleepovers." She said, buttoning up her shirt.

"Evidently." Aurora said dismissively. _What a bitch._ Thought Emma.

"I know it's none of my business, but you should lay off of her." Emma said, pulling on her shoes.

"I'm not the one sneaking out of her room at 2am." She replied spitefully.

Emma winced and ran a hand through her hair before walking out the door.

"Bye, Emma." She heard a voice call after her.

 **2.20am**

Emma was about to unlock the door to her room when she heard giggling from down the hallway. She looked up to see Belle and David walking towards her, their arms around each other. Belle's eyes widened in surprise when she saw her.

"Emma!" She said brightly. "You're coming home late! Where have you been?" She asked.

"I could say the same about you two." She responded, raising a brow and glancing between the two of them. Belle giggled again.

"We were just out on the campus field, star-gazing." She smiled, peering up at David, who was looking at her like he might propose at any moment. Emma struggled to choke down vomit.

"Cute." She managed.

"Where have you been?" Belle asked questioningly.

"Oh, uh." She stammered, trying to think of an excuse. "Just, uh… hanging out." She attempted pathetically. Belle raised an eyebrow and shrugged out from under David's arm.

"Who with?" She asked pointedly.

"Oh. No one interesting. Just some uh… People, at a… Place." She lied. She didn't think it would be a good idea to tell Belle she was with Ruby. But she was a terrible liar. Belle looked at her like she was trying to read her mind. Emma ran a hand through her hair and laughed nervously.

"You're acting weird." She said.

"No I'm not." Emma said defensively.

"Yes you are. You're coming home at 2 in the morning, your hair is standing on end, your make-up is all messed up and you won't tell us who you were with. What's the deal, Em?" She asked, her eyes narrowed with suspicion.

"Jesus, what are you, my mother?" Emma replied irritably. Belle frowned.

"No. I'm your friend who's making sure you're okay." She said gently. Emma immediately felt guilty.

"I'm fine, I'm just… Tired, okay? I'm sorry." She sighed. "I really just want to go to sleep. Can we talk in the morning?"

"Yeah sure." Belle resigned. "Night then." She said, her and David wandering off to her room.

"Night." Emma unlocked her door, let herself in and leant against it, sighing.

 _God damn it._

* * *

 **Looks like Emma's getting herself into a spot of trouble! I'm very curious to know what you guys think of this one. Sorry it's a little shorter than the others. The next chapter is going to be very SwanQueen focused, so please bear with me! I just really wanted to write this bit of the story.**

 **Stay tuned for Chapter 5! :)**


	5. Chapter 5: Coffee Date

**NEW CHAPTER!**

 **I promised you a SQ focused chapter, and being your dutiful servant, have delivered. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **10am**

The morning after her infamous escapade, Emma was in the library studying. She was going over some notes for the Professor when her phone buzzed loudly on the table. She scrambled to pick it up and quickly read the message on the screen.

 _Hey. Where did you go? :(_

It was from Ruby. Emma sighed. She really did not want to deal with this right now, but she felt bad about sneaking out of her room at 2 in the morning. She opened her phone and typed a quick response.

 _Sorry. Had some studying to do._

She hit send and a reply came through almost instantly.

 _Where are you? Can we talk?_

Emma groaned quietly.

 _Busy. At the library, will text you later._

She replied. Receiving no response, she set her phone back down on the table and continued with her work. Half an hour later she had basically forgotten all about it, until she felt a pair of hands on her shoulders and someone leaning down beside her.

"Hey." Ruby whispered in her ear. Emma jumped.

"Jesus, Ruby. You scared the shit out of me." She exclaimed, a few people turned to look at them. Ruby giggled.

"Sorry." She smiled.

"What are you doing here?" Emma asked irritably.

"I wanted to talk to you." She shrugged, plopping herself down next to Emma.

"I told you I was busy." She snapped. Ruby frowned.

"Why did you leave without saying goodbye?" She asked, hurt evident in her voice. Emma looked up at her and sighed.

"I had things to do… I didn't want to wake you. And I told you I don't do sleepovers." She shrugged. Ruby winced.

"Didn't you have fun last night?" She asked, visibly upset. Emma instantly felt guilty.

"It's not that. It's just. I'm sorry, I've got so much stuff going on right now, I'm just feeling a little uptight." She said earnestly, hoping that would get her to back off. Ruby stood up and walked behind her, placing her hands on her shoulders. Emma stiffened at her touch, but relaxed slightly when the brunette began massaging her shoulders.

"I think you just need to relax." She whispered, bending down to her ear. "It seemed to really relax you last night when I did that thing with my ton-"

"Ruby!" Emma hissed, standing up suddenly. Ruby took a step back. Multiple heads turned to look at them. Emma pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Come with me." She said through gritted teeth, pulling her towards the doors.

"Where are we going?" She giggled. Emma ignored her, pulling her towards the alcoves. She rounded a corner and glanced around, making sure they were alone before tugging her into an alcove seat.

"Oh yes, this is much more private." Ruby whispered, fingering Emma's blouse.

"Ruby, stop." Emma snapped, pushing her hand away. Ruby looked up at her and frowned.

"What?" She half-shouted. "What is your problem?"

"Will you keep your voice down, please?" She hissed. Ruby folded her arms and huffed. Emma sucked in a deep breath and ran a hand through her hair.

"Ruby, look. What happened last night can not, _will not_ happen again." She stated authoritatively, pausing when she noticed Ruby's eyes start to glisten.

"Why not?" She replied, choking back a sob. _Jesus, what have I done?_ Emma thought. She grabbed onto Ruby's hands and held them in her lap.

"Ruby. Listen to me, please." She said softly. Ruby looked up at her sadly, wiping at her eyes. "You are a beautiful girl. Anyone can see that. But, sometimes, you come on a little strong." She said gently, trying to will all the compassion she could muster. "You have way more to offer than just sex. You don't need to give so much away to get people to like you." Ruby was staring at the floor. Emma reached a finger to her chin and pushed up gently so their eyes met. "Hey. Seriously Rubes, you're funny, talented, nice… sometimes." She smiled. Ruby laughed a little in response. "If you let people get to know you, the real you, they'll see what I see. Someone with so much more to give." She reckoned, smiling sincerely. Ruby smiled back.

"Thanks, Em." She said quietly, wiping the remaining tears from her eyes. "I'm sorry for, you know, basically jumping you last night." Emma chuckled lightly.

"It's okay. And I'm sorry if I led you on in any way. For what it's worth, I had a really good time." She admitted. Ruby grinned. She took a deep breath and stared at Emma with a serious expression.

"You're so different from everyone else around here. There's no bullshit about you, you know? You're just… you. I really admire that. I think that's why I like you so much. Well, that and you're smoking hot." She grinned. Emma laughed.

"You're not so bad yourself, Rubes." She said, nudging her shoulder. Ruby smiled and took a deep breath.

"Okay, so I'm totally over this pity party." She said, standing up and brushing down her skirt. Emma chuckled. Ruby glanced up and held her gaze for a moment. "Thank you, for being honest with me." She said.

"Anytime, Rubes." She replied. Ruby's smile wavered slightly.

"Hey, this won't affect our tutoring thing, will it?" She asked seriously. "I really can not deal with another fail from The Evil Queen. That bitch has seriously got it in for me."

"Uh no, I can still tutor you. As long as you promise to keep the flirtatious comments to a minimum." She insisted.

"Hmm. I'll think about it." She grinned mischievously, before turning on her heel and sauntering off. "Bye, Em."

Emma sighed and let her body thump against the back of her seat.

"Evil Queen, huh? I haven't heard that one before." Emma froze. _No fucking way._ She thought. She slowly leaned forward and peered round into the alcove next to hers, and sure enough, there she was, feet up, reading through some papers, crunching down on a red apple.

"Are you serious?" She groaned, completely mortified.

"It seems, no matter how much I pray, I cannot escape you and Ms. Lucas." The professor mused, turning back to her papers. Emma felt her face flush.

"How much of that did you hear?" She asked, trying to hide her embarrassment.

"Enough." She smirked

"Oh my god. Could this week get any worse?" She groaned.

"For you and me both it seems, Ms. Swan." She said. Emma stood up and walked over to face her. Glancing at her smooth legs, resting on the seat in front of her. Emma cleared her throat and folded her arms when she noticed the Professor looking at her.

"What's uh… What's going on with you?" She asked, trying desperately to change the subject.

"The usual, work, work and more work." She sighed, lifting up her papers.

"Would it make you feel better to know that I'm currently dying inside?" She attempted with a smile.

"A little." She smirked. "For what it's worth I think you handled it very well." Emma groaned again, but couldn't help the laugh that escaped her throat. She peered at the professor, who was watching her amusedly.

"You look like you could use a break." She said, gesturing to the papers she was holding.

"You're probably right." She sighed. Emma raised an eyebrow.

"You know, you still owe me that coffee date?" She quirked. The professor opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again.

"Emma, I don't…"

"Come on, it'll be fun. You said yourself you could use a break." She persuaded. The professor glanced down at her work and exhaled.

"All right then, I suppose a quick coffee won't hurt." She resigned, gathering up her things. Emma felt a triumphant smile creep across her face.

 **10.45am**

They walked across campus together, discussing the project. Emma held the door open for Regina as they stepped into the coffee shop.

"What would you like? Go grab a seat, I'm buying."

"Emma, I couldn't possibly allow you t-"

"Regina." She interrupted "I forced you to get coffee with me, the least I can do is pay for it. Seriously, what do you want?" Regina raised an eyebrow, but a smile was tugging at the corners of her lips.

"Black americano please." She surrendered. "And you didn't force me." She added before turning to find a seat, selecting a cosy couch area by the window. Emma smiled to herself and wandered over to the counter.

Once they were ready, Emma picked up the coffee's from the end of the counter and turned around, coming face to face with Aurora.

"Hey, Em." She smiled flirtatiously.

"Hi, Aurora." Emma replied irritably.

"You look good today." She smirked, staring her up and down. "Not as good as you looked last night, though." She finished with a wink. Emma grimaced and went to move past her.

"So." Aurora began before she she could move. Emma closed her eyes.

"What do you want Aurora? I'm busy." She snapped. Aurora frowned.

"Are you here with Ruby?" She asked, looking around the room.

"No."

"Good. You can do better. Speaking of…" She stepped forward, leaning in. "My boyfriend is going to be out all night on Friday, I was wondering if you wanted to come over?" She smiled suggestively. Emma raised an eyebrow, struggling to suppress a snort.

"No, thank you." She replied dismissively. Aurora took a step back, her eyebrows narrowed.

"Why not?" She asked offendedly.

"Because I'm not interested." Emma smiled, brushing past her, leaving Aurora to stare after her open mouthed. Her eyes caught Regina's, who was regarding her with a curious smirk. Emma rolled her eyes and sat down in the chair opposite.

"Dare I ask?" She quipped. Emma sighed.

"Girls equal drama, is the short version."

"Do you leave a trail of broken hearts wherever you go, Ms. Swan?" She mused. Emma snorted.

"What can I say?" She replied sarcastically with a sheepish grin. Regina chuckled.

"So." Emma began, sliding Regina's coffee towards her. "Where are you from?" She asked, taking a sip of her latte.

"New York." Regina replied, sipping her own coffee. Emma grinned.

"I knew it." She concluded. Regina gave her a challenging look. "You're a total Upper East Sider. I knew it from our first class." Emma smiled.

"What gave it away?" Regina smirked.

"Well, you're always very well put together, professional yet elegant, chic." She began. Regina raised an eyebrow. "Sometimes you come across a little uppity, so I assumed you were from privilege." Regina's brow raised even further. "And that Evil Queen demeanour is definitely something I've grown accustomed to on the streets of Manhattan." Emma smirked. Regina paused, about to sip on her coffee, to let out a throaty laugh. Emma peered at her over the top of her cup. She liked seeing the Professor like this. Relaxed, enjoying herself. When she laughed her beauty radiated across the room, it took Emma's breath away.

"Well, you're certainly very observant, Ms. Swan." Regina retorted, still chuckling to herself. "Let me guess, Brooklyn?" She asked.

"Actually no." Emma replied, placing her coffee back on the table. "Maine."

"Oh, now that is surprising." Regina replied with a raised brow. "You hardly seem like the beach going, Ralph Lauren wearing, prep school type." She mocked. Emma laughed.

"Well, I like the beach, but I certainly don't own any Ralph Lauren, and I didn't go to prep school." She paused. "I was born in Manhattan and my mother is from Manhattan, but she spent every summer of her childhood in Maine. She talks about those summers all the time. She told me that she always wanted to move out there when she had a family of her own, and when her parents died there was nothing attaching her to Manhattan anymore, so we moved to Storybrooke. I was around 5 I think." Emma finished.

"I see. Did she not find it rather limiting? I can't imagine there's much of an art scene in… where was it again?" She asked.

"Storybooke. It's a really small town. And no, you're right there's not much of an art scene, there's not much of anything really, but my mom has built a pretty nice business for herself there, her exhibitions always attract a lot of attention. She has a well known reputation for being an excellent and innovative curator, so lots of dealers and collectors fly in when she has a big exhibition on, which is great for local business'. My mom's pretty popular around town." Emma grinned. Regina was looking at her curiously.

"What's your mothers name?" She asked.

"Mary Margaret Blanchard." Emma replied. Regina's eyes widened.

"Blanchard?" As in Eva and Leopold Blanchard?" She asked surprisedly.

"The very same. You know of them?" Emma asked. She wasn't surprised that Regina had heard of her grandparents, they were famous Manhattan art dealers in the '60s, supporting some of the most famous artists of the time. Their Warhol exhibition in 1962 was what launched him into stardom.

"How could I not?" She answered, surprise still evident on her face. "I had no idea you were related. The Blanchard's were actually close friends with my father." She noted. Now it was Emma's turn to be surprised.

"Really?" She asked. "What's your fathers name?"

"His name was Henry. Henry Mills" Regina replied. Emma detected a hint of sadness in her voice.

"He passed away?" She asked. Regina's face dropped, she gazed into her coffee and cleared her throat.

"My senior year in college." She said quietly.

"I'm sorry, Regina." Emma said, reaching out a hand and placing it over the brunettes, who looked up and smiled at her sadly in response. "You were close?" She asked.

"Incredibly. I took it pretty hard when he passed, he was my favourite person in the world. A wonderful man, inside and out. His passion for art and literature was what led me down this path. Much like your mother, I suppose." She said, glancing at Emma's hand, which was still laid over her own. Emma, slightly embarrassed that she may have over-stepped, awkwardly pulled her hand away.

"I'm really sorry to hear that Regina, truly, I can't imagine a life without my mother." She said, the thought filling her with sadness.

"It's quite alright Emma, you weren't to know." She said, giving her a sad smile. "What about your father?" She asked, sipping on her coffee.

"Oh." Emma paused, clearing her throat. "My father died just after I was born so…" She trailed off, Regina looked horrified.

"I'm so sorry, I had no-"

"Regina." Emma interrupted. "It's cool, I made peace with it when I was a kid. My mom and I were so close that I never really felt like I was missing out on anything." She said plainly.

"And your mother… I'm sorry, I hope you don't think my questions are too personal?" She asked suddenly. Emma shook her head.

"Not at all, ask away." The professor held her gaze for a moment.

"Your mother, how did she deal with that? You know, raising you alone." She asked.

"Oh, she was great, really, the way she handled being a single mom, especially when her parents died… it's one of the reasons I admire her so much. She's a total trooper, you know? I was a pretty easy going kid to be fair, but she never let it overwhelm her. She loved my Dad, of course, and it was awful for her when he died, but she had me to get her through it. I think that's why we're so close, I sort of became her rock, and she's always been mine. We'd do everything together. She took me with her whenever she went away for work or whatever reason, even if it was just for a weekend, we spent most of our weekends in various cities, actually. New York, Boston, Paris… It's safe to say I matured pretty quickly, being around all that. But honestly, I couldn't have asked for a better childhood. She was protective, but she never smothered me, she let me be my own person, carve out my own path, make my own decisions. And when she talks about my Dad, it never really feels sad… I mean, it is, of course, there's always an underlying sadness there, but whenever she talks about him it's like she lights up, there's so much love and fondness in her voice, never focusing on the bad, just the good times. It almost felt like he was always there, in spirit, watching over us or something." Emma finished. Regina was smiling warmly at her.

"She sounds like a wonderful woman." She said.

"She is." Emma smiled back.

"How did she feel about you moving across the country for college?" Regina asked.

"Oh, she was pretty upset that I wouldn't be close to home. I got into Williams and Amherst and I think she really wanted me to go to Williams, but she was ridiculously proud that I got into CAU. She knew it was my first choice and totally supported that, but I think she misses me a lot. I felt pretty guilty about leaving, but CAU has the best Art History programme in the country and I've always dreamed of going here, so, I couldn't pass up the opportunity." Emma shrugged.

"Of course not." Regina shook her head. "And I'm sure your mother completely understands that."

"Yeah." Emma sighed. "Besides, I love the weather." She smiled.

"Yes, that is one bonus." Regina agreed.

"What about you, why did you move out here?" Emma asked, sipping her coffee.

"Well, I was offered a job here and I took it."

"How long have you lived here?"

"10 years."

Emma pondered for a moment. "But I thought you only started teaching here a few years ago?" She asked confusedly.

"Yes, that's correct."

"So, what did you do before CAU?"

"I was a curator at the Belgarve Gallery, before that I was an assistant to one of the curator's at the Oakland Museum."

"So, you moved out here for the assistant job?" Emma asked. The professor paused.

'Not exactly." She trailed off. Emma raised an eyebrow. "It's a long story." Regina sighed.

"I've got time." Emma smiled. Regina chuckled lightly.

"Alright then." She began. "I was married once before." Emma nearly choked on her coffee.

"Oh." She spluttered. Regina narrowed her eyes with a small smile.

"Are you alright, Emma?" She mused.

"Yes, sorry. Continue." She replied, trying to appear casual, nonchalant. Though she felt weirdly jealous.

"His name was Archie. We met my senior year in college. He was a lovely man, talented, sensitive, a painter… We dated for the entirety of our senior year. He was there for me when my dad died, which was a very difficult time, and I found myself leaning on him a lot. Our last summer in college, he proposed. He wanted to move to California, open up an art gallery, start a new life. He made it sound very convincing, so I accepted, but for all the wrong reasons. He was very much in love with me, that was obvious. And though I loved him too, I was never truly in love with him." She trailed off. Emma was listening intently.

"So, why did you say yes?" She asked. Regina looked at her with a sad smile.

"Because of my mother." She admitted. Emma narrowed her eyes in confusion.

"Your mother?"

Regina sucked in a deep breath.

"I was furious with her for how she'd handled my fathers death. He'd had a heart attack, you see, and was kept in the hospital for a couple of days so they could monitor him." She paused, sighing. "On the third night he had another heart attack in his sleep and died. My mother never called me after his first attack, never told me what had happened, even though she knew it wasn't looking good. She told me she didn't think it was anything to worry about. But I knew she didn't tell me because she resented me, she resented that my father loved me more than he ever loved her. So I never got to say goodbye to him, never got to tell him I loved him one last time..." Regina's eyes swam with tears. Emma didn't know what to do, she sat there in stunned silence, wanting desperately to hold Regina and tell her it was going to be okay, but instead she did the only thing she could, and listened. "When she told me he had died, it broke me. All the pent up anger I felt towards her throughout my life, I let it all go. I screamed, cried, let her know exactly what I thought of her. She just hung up, didn't say a thing. I had to call my aunt to find out about the funeral arrangements. My mother didn't even look at me throughout the entire service. And I knew then, we were over." She finished, a few tears spilling down her cheeks, which she quickly wiped away. She looked up at Emma with a sad smile and ran a hand through her hair, sighing.

"Jesus, I'm sorry for going on. You must think I'm emotionally unstable." Emma reached out a hand and grabbed Regina's, who's eyes widened in surprise.

"Not at all. Please don't ever think that. I'm so sorry… For everything. Truly, that sounds…"

"Awful?" Regina finished for her. Emma shook her head and exhaled. "I promise I don't usually cry in front of my students." She smiled. Emma squeezed her hand.

"You know you can talk to me right, Regina? I know I'm your student and whatever, but I also know how lonely life can be sometimes. If you ever need a person to talk to, or just someone to sit and listen, which we all do, no matter how guarded we pretend to be. I may not be your first choice of friend, but I'm here nonetheless." Emma offered. Regina glanced up at her with a warm smile, her expression one of shy gratitude.

"Thank you, Emma." She said softly.

"Anytime." Emma replied, giving her hand another squeeze before slowly removing it. Regina glanced down as Emma's hand retracted, watching it slide back to her coffee cup, which she picked up and sipped from, smiling.

"So, what does your mom have to do with why you married your ex-husband?" She asked curiously.

"Oh, yes of course." Regina began. "So, yes I resented my mother and wanted to get back at her any way possible. I knew she would be furious if she found out I was marrying some hippie artist and running off into the California sunset. She had always wanted me to marry someone she approved of, you know? Live in Manhattan, become the wife of some aristocrat, go for brunch with heinous socialites, plan gala's and charity balls. Live her life basically. And I would rather have died than do anything of those things. So I accepted Archie's proposal and moved as far away from that life as I possibly could." She finished.

"Good for you." Emma grinned. "So, then what happened?" Regina sighed.

"I knew I didn't love him the way I was supposed to. I told him how I felt, that we weren't right for each other. He was heartbroken, of course. But he accepted my decision and we went our separate ways. For supposedly one of the most stressful events of a persons life, my divorce was probably the least dramatic thing that's ever happened to me." Regina and Emma both laughed, then paused, holding each others gaze for a moment. Emma felt herself falling into those dark chocolate eyes. She was completely drawn in by Regina, she couldn't tear herself away. It was scary but also thrilling at the same time. She knew she wanted the brunette, badly. But she didn't know how far she could push it. She could never quite figure out how Regina felt.

"So." Emma said, clearing her throat. "Did you ever hear from your mother again?"

Regina sighed. "She called me after she found out I'd gotten married and moved here. I didn't answer so she left a voicemail telling me never to contact her again, so I didn't, and I haven't to this day." She shrugged.

"Wow. That's intense." Emma breathed. "Would you ever..?"

"No. Not unless she reached out to me first. And even then, probably not." Emma nodded in understanding.

"You're kind of bad ass Regina." Emma grinned. The professor raised an eyebrow, the corners of her lips tugging upwards.

"I thought I was an Evil Queen?" She smirked. Emma laughed.

"Nah, not to me. You're a hardass, but I like that." She smiled flirtatiously. The professor met her gaze.

"Maybe I'm a little too soft on you, I'll have to start being tougher. Wouldn't want to ruin my reputation, after all." She retorted.

"Ah, but how can you be tough on your most perfect student." Emma mused.

"Well, you just admitted that you like it when I'm a hardass." She answered levelly, her eyes never leaving Emma's. Emma held her breath and felt her stomach flip over. _Okay, she is definitely flirting._ She thought, registering the glint in Regina's eyes, daring her to continue.

"I like a lot of things about you." Emma replied suggestively. Regina's smirk grew even wider.

"Pray tell."

Emma took a sip of her coffee, peering at the professor over the top of the cup.

"What's not to like? You're smart, funny, beautiful." She replied coolly. The professor raised an eyebrow. "You've got more than a few things going for you." She added coyly. The professor cocked her head.

"You're certainly not shy, are you Ms. Swan?"

"Shy is an attitude reserved for people who don't know what they want. I know what I want." Emma replied levelly, her eyes boring into Regina's, who leaned forward and placed her chin on her knuckles with a small smile.

"And what do you want, Ms. Swan?" She breathed. Emma felt her heart pound in her chest. She too leaned in.

"Well, if I told you that I'd be giving away all my secrets." She said with a small smile. The two women gazed at each other for several moments, but were interrupted by Emma's phone buzzing loudly on the table between them. Emma jumped slightly and snatched up her phone.

 _Can we hang tonight? - B_

Emma sighed. "Sorry" she murmured, placing her phone back on the table.

"Not at all. I actually best be going. I still have lots of work to do." Regina replied, finishing off her coffee and gathering up her coat and bag.

"Oh, sure." Emma said, trying to hide her disappointment. Regina pulled on her coat and manoeuvred herself round the table so she was standing above Emma.

"Thank you. For the coffee, and the pleasant conversation. I've rather enjoyed myself." She said with a knowing smile.

"Me too." Emma smiled warmly, their gazes held for a moment.

"I'll see you on Friday, Ms. Swan?" Regina asked.

"I'm looking forward to it." Emma replied. Regina regarded her with her famous smirk and a small nod before sauntering out of the coffee shop. Emma stared after her, exhaling loudly. Her palms were sweating slightly. She wiped them on her jeans and glanced around the room. She found herself utterly perplexed by the brunette, she made her feel bold and nervous at the same time, it was a feeling she was completely unfamiliar with. She hoped she wasn't too obvious about her attraction to the older woman, but she couldn't help herself around the Professor, the suggestion just seeped out with her words, like she had no filter. She ran a hand through her hair and picked up her phone.

 _Sure, come over around 7? - E_

 _Sounds good to me! :)_

* * *

 **The anticipation grows! Let me know what you think, beautiful people! :) Stay tuned for Chapter 6.**


	6. Chapter 6: In Too Deep

**NEW CHAPTER!**

This chapter is a lot less SQ focused than the last, so I apologise to all the hardcore SQ lovers who are following this story. I want to explore the different sides to Emma's story before we get into the real SQ action, and don't worry, there will be plenty SQ to come! We will get there, please bear with me! :)

* * *

 **7.05pm**

"I brought snacks." Belle grinned, holding up a bag of cheetos and a box of jolly ranchers.

"Awesome." Emma smiled, pulling the door open and stepping to the side to let Belle through.

"So, what are we watching?" She asked brightly, jumping onto Emma's bed.

"I don't mind." Emma replied, reaching for her sweatpants. "You pick." Emma unbuttoned her jeans and slid them off, pulling on her sweats. Belle averted her eyes, a slight blush creeping up her neck. Emma wasn't sure of Belle's feelings towards her after the incident a few weeks ago, but she had been seeing David ever since and the pair seemed overly happy together, so Emma just assumed those feelings were irrelevant now. She had barely seen Belle at all in that time, so tonight was their catch up.

"How about mean girls?" Belle suggested.

"Sure." Emma agreed, unbuttoning her blouse and searching for an old t-shirt. She glanced around the room and saw one lying next to Belle, who was staring at her with wide eyes. Her head snapped away once their gazes met, the blush now reaching her cheeks. Emma walked over to the bed and reached for her shirt. Belle stole a glance at Emma's torso before quickly averting her eyes down.

"Sorry." Emma murmured, grabbing her shirt and shoving it on.

"No. No problem." Belle muttered, clearing her throat. Emma walked across her room, pulled open a drawer in her white ikea storage unit and flicked through her DVD collection to find mean girls. She quickly found it, opened the case and placed the disc in the handy DVD compartment of her small TV. She grabbed the remote off her desk and plopped herself on the bed next to Belle, who still had an air of awkwardness about her. Emma nudged her shoulder and grinned.

"Pass me the cheetos, loser." She said playfully. Belle smiled and handed them over. Emma ripped them open and began shoving them into her mouth by the handful. Belle looked at her with slight disgust.

"You're gross, you know that?" She grimaced. Emma smiled through a mouthful of orange puffs.

"I know." She shrugged. Belle giggled and they settled in to watch the film, the tension between them quickly dissipating.

 **7.50pm**

They were halfway through the film, cuddled up under a multitude of blankets, when a phone buzzed somewhere beside Belle. She felt around under the blankets and pulled out Emma's phone, frowning as she read the screen.

"Speaking of Regina." She glowered. Emma's heart fluttered in her chest. _Regina had texted her?_ She thought hopefully.

"What does it say?" She asked coolly, trying to appear unfazed by the prospect of the Professor texting her.

"She says you left your socks at her place last night and do you want her to bring them to class next week." Belle replied blankly. Emma froze. _Fuck._ She thought. Realising that Belle was calling Ruby, Regina as in Regina George.

"Oh." She managed. Belle turned to her with a look of utter betrayal.

"You were at Ruby's last night?" She asked indignantly, her eyes narrowing.

"I. Um." Emma stuttered.

"So, last night, when you came home at 2am and wouldn't tell me where you'd been. You'd been with Ruby?" She continued sharply, her voice raising an octave. Emma didn't say anything, she just stared at Belle shamefully, like a puppy that's been told off for chewing furniture. Belle's face fell. "You had sex with her didn't you?" She asked quietly, in utter disbelief. Emma closed her eyes and held her breath.

"Belle, it's not-"

"It's not _what_ Emma!?" She shouted, shoving herself away from the blonde, as if their close proximity were too much for her to bear. "You. Fucked. Ruby." She hissed. Emma winced. She had never heard Belle this angry before. Hell, she had barely ever seen Belle get annoyed, let alone angry. Emma noted the fire in Belle's eyes and knew that this wasn't going to end well.

"Belle, listen to me, please." She pleaded, reaching out a hand. Belle flinched away from her touch.

"Why? So you can make up some other bullshit lie? Or some fucking excuse so you don't have to face your problems? Jesus, Emma. You don't even _like_ Ruby, you've always complained about how annoying she is, and you know. You _know_ how much I can't stand her. But you still went over to her house and _fucked_ her. Why?" She demanded, now on her feet, staring down at Emma, who felt backed into a corner.

"I'm not lying or making up excuses." She began, sighing and running a hand through her hair. "It just happened, B. I don't know what else to tell you."

"It just happened. _It just happened!?_ " She repeated incredulously. "It just _happened_ that you couldn't keep your hands out of her pants?" She spat. Emma winced again.

"Belle, she invited me over, I stupidly accepted because I felt bad saying no. We were watching a film and she fucking pounced on me." She explained. Belle scoffed.

"What? And you couldn't have just pushed her off and said no?" She said spitefully. Emma stood up, staring at the brunette levelly.

"Why are you so upset? This is my life, Belle. I can have sex with whoever I want." She fired back. Belle looked at her like she'd just slapped her across the face.

"You know why I'm upset." She replied, her voice breaking. Emma closed her eyes, guilt creeping over her. There was a moment of silence before Emma started again.

"But… You're with David." She attempted. Belle looked up at her sadly, her eyes swimming with tears.

"He's not the one I really want." She whispered, tears falling down her cheeks, which she furiously wiped away. Emma stared after her in a stupor. "I'm such a fucking idiot." She continued miserably.

"Belle, please, don't say that. You're not. It's not." She paused. "It didn't mean anything." She mumbled sadly.

"Oh, good. That makes me feel better." She replied bitterly. Emma reached out a hand.

"Don't." Belle flinched, looking up at her dejectedly. "I told you how I felt about you. That was only a few weeks ago, Emma. Do you really think I'd just magically gotten over those feelings? I'm with David now, yes, and he makes me happy. But he's not you." She said regrettably. "You knew how I felt, you knew I would be upset if I found out about you and Ruby, which is why you tried to hide it from me… You rejected me, then fucked her." She finished bleakly. Emma had never felt more awful in her entire life, she could see how much Belle was hurting, she wanted desperately to fix it, it was killing her to see her best friend like this.

"Belle, Ruby means nothing to me. _Nothing._ You… You mean so, so much to me, please believe that. I had sex with Ruby, yes. But it was fleeting, meaningless. We're not going to skip off into the sunset together. But you. You're my _best friend_ , B." She paused. "I'm sorry that I don't feel the same way as you, truly, I couldn't be more sorry about that, if I could change the way I feel, I would. But I can't give you something that doesn't exist, if I did, if I just went along with it, it wouldn't last and it would ruin our friendship, and then we wouldn't be in each other's lives at all, and that… That would break my heart. So, I can't, B. I just can't…" Emma choked, tears spilling from her eyes. Belle sniffed and looked up at her.

"Is… Is there something wrong with me?" She asked painfully.

"B, no. God no. You're beautiful. Jesus christ, you're so beautiful. And it's not like I haven't thought about it. Having sex with you, of course I have. How couldn't I? But then, that's all it would be. Just sex. And it's not worth it. Having sex with you, you wanting more and me not being able to give you more, it would kill me. That's why I've never… With you, but with Ruby, it didn't matter…" She trailed off, wiping at her cheeks and taking a deep breath. Belle was staring at her with a look of uncertainty.

"What if I was okay with just sex?" She asked quietly. Emma's head shot up.

"B, I've just explained why that's a terrible idea. Please…" She trailed off as Belle stepped towards her, reaching up a hand, wrapping it around her neck and pulling their lips together. "B" Emma whispered before their lips touched, she could taste the salt from her tears on her soft mouth. Her arms lifted to Belle's waist, grazing the fabric of her shirt softly.

"I want you." Belle breathed as she pulled away. "I don't need more from you, I just need to feel you… Please. You're all I think about." She pleaded quietly. Emma reached up to her cheek and ran her fingers through her soft brown hair, pulling her face close, their lips brushing over each other's once again. Emma couldn't think straight, her thoughts were jumbled as their lips pressed together, she knew this was a bad idea, but in the moment, she didn't care. She was fighting to keep Belle, giving into her want, she knew it was selfish, but she couldn't bear to lose her. Overcome by desire, she tugged at the hem of Belle's shirt, pulling it over her head. Her fingertips brushed over the smooth skin of Belle's abdomen, who whimpered into her mouth at the touch. The brunette grasped at Emma's shirt, bunching it in her fists, her tongue licking at her bottom lip, seeking entrance, which Emma quickly granted. Her hand gripped Belle's neck firmly as their tongues danced together. A low moan escaped Belle's throat. Emma reached up her back and unclasped her bra, pulling the straps down her arms and throwing it to the floor. The brunette's breath hitched as Emma grazed her thumb lightly over a stiffened nipple.

"Huh." She whimpered, biting down on Emma's lip, pulling at her blonde curls. Emma pulled away, quickly tearing off her clothes and and throwing them to the floor before pushing Belle onto her bed. Belle gazed up at Emma's half naked form climbing over her, want overcoming every fibre of her being. She stroked her fingers down Emma's toned stomach before the blonde leant down and began biting and sucking at her neck. Belle moaned, her stomach tightening as blood rushed between her thighs. Emma trailed kisses down the brunettes neck, along her collarbone and the valley between her breasts, before slowly gliding her tongue over a hardened nipple. Belle gasped as Emma's teeth grazed over the sensitive flesh, her hands reaching up Emma's back and unclasping her bra. Emma sat up and let it fall to the floor. Belle's eyes widened at the sight of her perfect, round breasts.

"You're so beautiful, Em." She breathed, tracing her fingers over the blonde's smooth mounds. Emma leant down and enveloped her mouth into a passionate kiss, both women breathing heavily as their hips rocked together.

Emma's hand slid into the waistband of Belle's sweatpants, stopping to finger the hem of the lace panties she wore, then moving slowly beneath the fabric of her underwear. Her eyes never left the brunette's as her fingers slid through her slick folds. Belle gasped and clutched onto the blonde's forearm, Emma closed her eyes and bit her lip, becoming more and more turned on by how wet Belle was. She began sliding her fingers over Belle's clit, the brunette's fingernails dug deeply into Emma's arm in response.

"Fuck, Emma." She breathed, her breath hitching. Blue eyes met green, wide with darkened lust and a hint of something else, apprehension? Emma paused.

"Are you sure-" She began, staring to pull her hand out. Belle's grip tightened on her arm.

"Yes. Please. I want this." She breathed.

"Okay." Emma whispered, running her finger in circles around Belle's clit, who's hips gyrated against Emma's in response, whilst moaning and panting softly.

"Oh god, that feels so good." She whimpered. Emma placed delicate kisses along the brunette's neck, her fingers moving faster over the swollen bundle of nerves. Belle's legs were shaking, her head thrown back in pleasure, her mouth left hanging open, nothing but short breaths and heightened moans of desire escaping. Emma rubbed a finger over the entrance of Belle's sex, slowly pushing a finger in, she instantly felt the walls contract around her.

"UH." Belle groaned loudly, her hands clutching at the bed sheets beside her hips. Emma took that as a positive sign and began slowly pumping her finger in and out of Belle, pressing her palm against her clit. Belle reached one arm up and grabbed onto the back of Emma's hair, her fingers entangled in the blonde curls.

"More." She breathed. Emma pushed another finger into Belle and began pumping at a quickened pace, using her thumb to rub over Belle's clit, who was now moaning loud enough for the entire floor to hear.

"Oh GOD, fuck yes Emma!" She cried, her back arching off the bed as her body convulsed. Emma could feel Belle's walls contracting around her fingers as a warm liquid rushed down her wrist. Belle fell back onto the bed, panting heavily, a layer of sweat glistening on her forehead. Emma slowly slid her fingers out, wiping them on the sheets beneath her. Belle opened her eyes and looked up at Emma, who was staring down at her with a smile. Belle laughed softly.

"Wow." She breathed.

"That good, huh?" Emma mused, collapsing next to her.

"Asshole." Belle exhaled, still trying to get her breath back. Emma reached her arm up and placed it behind her head. Both women stared up at the ceiling in silence for a few moments.

"So, what does this mean?" Belle asked. Emma stiffened.

"What?"

"I mean, does this mean we're together now?" Emma sat up, peering over Belle, who only managed to keep a straight face for another few seconds before she burst out laughing.

"Jesus, Emma, chill. I'm kidding." She giggled. Emma sighed and flopped back down.

"Sorry, you just… I'm still trying to comprehend what just happened." She said, rubbing her forehead. Belle swallowed.

"I know what this is Em, I'm not completely naive. You don't owe me anything." She said, sitting up. Emma sat up too and reached out a hand to her cheek, stroking the soft skin. Belle smiled and kissed the palm of her hand. "Can this ever happen again?" She asked quietly, staring up at Emma.

"I don't think it's a good idea, B. If we carry on, things will end up messy. They always do." Emma said softly. Belle nodded.

"I get it." She sighed. "It just sucks because that was definitely the best orgasm I've ever had." She sighed, collapsing back onto the bed. Emma chuckled. There was a moment of silence before Emma spoke.

"Are you… Uh. Are you going to tell Nolan?" She asked. Belle exhaled, her arm flopping over her eyes.

"I don't know." She said quietly. "I feel awful lying to him, but the thought of telling him… He'd be so upset." She trailed off. Emma nodded.

"It's up to you, B. You do whatever you need to do." Belle traced a finger over Emma's back, who shivered in response.

"I wish things were less complicated." She sighed. Emma turned to face her with a sad smile.

"Me too, B."

* * *

 **8.40am**

Emma was sat outside one of the many lecture halls in the humanities building, clutching a latte, waiting for her English literature Professor to arrive and unlock the door. She was 20 minutes early. She'd been lying awake since 5am, her mind racing with thoughts of what was going to happen with Belle as well as the pressing amount of school work she had to do. But at the forefront of her mind recently was always… Regina. She couldn't get the woman out of her head, which was infuriating as Emma had much more pressing things to worry about. But their encounter at the coffee house had just encouraged Emma's ever growing interest of and attraction to the woman. She was mesmerising, every spare thought was consumed by Regina, and it bothered Emma that she couldn't have her. Well, maybe she could. But it certainly wasn't going to be easy. _But then, I never shy away from a challenge_ , she thought hungrily, imagining what it would be like to have Regina, to feel her, taste her...

Emma heard something clatter to the ground, followed by a loud curse, pulling the blonde out of her daydream. She got up and walked round the corner, pausing when she noticed a flustered looking Regina. Around her feet lay a cluster of haphazardly strewn books.

"Need some help?" Emma asked with a small smirk. Regina looked up with a glare, her face softening when she realised who the offer of help was coming from.

"It would appear so, Ms. Swan." She replied with a small smile. Emma threw the rest of her latte in the trash and reached down beside her, gathering up a few of the books she'd dropped. "What are you doing here so early?" Regina asked, brushing her hair out of her face.

"Couldn't sleep, had to get out of my room, so grabbed a coffee and headed here." She explained.

"Lots on your mind?" Regina asked, the corners of her lips tugging up into a small smirk.

"It would appear so, Professor Mills." Emma replied, returning her smirk. Regina cocked an eyebrow. "What's with all the books?" She asked, glancing at the covers, they were all Art History related.

"A feeble attempt at finding some last minute inspiration for the book. I seem to be clutching at straws." She sighed. Emma looked at her as they both stood up with their respective pile of books.

"Come on, I'll walk you back to your office." Emma smiled.

 **8.45am**

"So what's up?" Emma asked, her and Regina walking side by side up the stairs to her office.

"Oh, I don't know, really. I'm just frustrated. This book… It's becoming more of a challenge with each passing day." She resigned.

"Seriously? 'Cause from where I'm standing it's really coming together." Emma replied. Regina peered at her over the top of the books she was carrying.

"Yourself and the other students have been wonderful, really, I'm incredibly grateful, the work you're coming up with has been great. I just feel like _I'm_ not contributing enough… and it is my book, after all." Regina stated. Emma looked at her incredulously.

"Regina, you're being way too hard on yourself. You asked for our help for a reason, you knew it was too much work for one person, and it's okay to share the load, ask for help. We're all so grateful to you for this amazing opportunity." Emma replied sincerely.

"I know I'm asking a lot of you all. I don't want you to feel like I'm not pulling my weight." Regina sighed, opening the door to her office and walking inside. Emma followed her to her desk and placed the books down, turning to look at her seriously.

"Regina. No one thinks that. Are you crazy? You've done more work on this book than all of us combined. You're the one giving us all the information, pushing us in the direction. This whole book is coming from you. Only you, no one else." Emma stated. Regina met her gaze with a small smile.

"Thank you for saying so." She said quietly.

"You don't need to thank me, it's the truth." Emma shrugged. "This book is yours and yours alone, sure we helped, and we'll continue to help, but don't think for a second that you're not doing enough, that's insane." Emma finished, shaking her head.

"Well, you've been helping an awful lot, I don't think I could have gotten this far without you, Emma." Regina smiled.

"Sure you would have. But I'm happy to help." Emma smiled back. The two women stared at each other for a long moment.

"You're going to be late for class." Regina quipped. Emma glanced down at her watch, it was nearing 9.

"Shit." Emma cursed, grabbing her bag.

"I'll see you tonight, Ms. Swan?" Regina mused.

"Looking forward to it." Emma grinned, rushing out of her office.

 **6.45pm**

"What are you wearing?" Ruby's voice breathed down the phone. Emma was scrambling around her room in her underwear and a towel turban, trying to find her black dress to wear to the gala that started in less than an hour. She still needed to get dressed and do her hair and make up. She'd been distracted by work, panicking when she looked at her watch and saw it was already 6.30pm.

"Ruby, I don't have time for this shit right now, I'm running seriously late." She snapped.

"Jeez crabby pants, I just want to know what you're wearing tonight." Ruby said defensively. Emma paused.

"Oh. Sorry. I thought you meant.."

"Oh, no. I meant that too." Emma could basically hear Ruby grinning down the phone.

"Asshole." She sighed. "Well, I was planning on wearing a black dress, but I currently can't find it." She replied irritably, pulling her closet apart.

"Okay, well you sound pretty stressed out so I'm gonna go. What time shall I meet you?" She asked.

"Um… Can we say, 8.30?"

"Fine with me, fashionably late is always more my style anyway. Laters, Em." She clicked off. Emma took a second to breathe, relaxing now that she knew she had a bit more time.

 **8.15pm**

Emma took a step back and surveyed herself in the mirror. She looked good. _Really good._ She was wearing a tight fitting black dress that cut off above her wrist and stopped just above her knees. The plunging v-shaped neckline exposed an appropriate amount of cleavage, and the black pointed stilettos she wore made her long, toned legs appear even longer and smoother. Her usual tangle of curls were now swept to one side, styled with an elegant, soft, natural wave, and her make up was applied to perfection, her classic smoky eye highlighting the green of her eyes. She grabbed a pair of gold, hoop earrings from her dresser and put them on, along with a matching, elegant, gold Larsson and Jennings watch. She applied the finishing touches of red lipstick and gathered a few bits of make up and money, popping them into her black clutch and spraying herself with Marc Jacobs perfume before giving herself another once over and hurrying out of her room. She was locking her door when she heard a voice down the hall.

"Wow, Emma. You look smoking." David whistled. Emma froze then quickly straightened, turning to face the handsome blonde heading towards her, his arm wrapped around Belle. Emma glanced at Belle, who was gazing over her figure, her mouth hanging open slightly, she bit her lip and looked at Emma longingly, who gave her a small smile in response.

"Thanks, Nolan." Emma murmured, her eyes never leaving Belle, who she was worried might start drooling at any moment.

"I'm running late, so can't stay and chat." She said quickly, walking towards them and shoving her keys in her clutch.

"No worries, Em. Where you off to?" David asked. Emma stopped in front of them, glancing between the blonde and brunette. Belle's eyes were burning into her skin. Emma cleared her throat.

"Art History gala thing."

"Sounds cool, well, have fun." David smiled, walking him and Belle towards her room. Emma raised an eyebrow at Belle, who gave her a small smile before disappearing into her room.

"Bye, Em." She said quietly. Emma sighed and headed towards the St. Clair Hall across campus.

* * *

I was debating for ages whether or not to include this chapter and am dying to know what you guys think! The next chapter is the gala, and it's gonna be a good one for sure. Stay tuned! :)


	7. Chapter 7: The Gala

**Thank you all so much for your lovely comments, it really does make my day to read them! :)**

 **As promised, this chapter is the gala. Enjoy!**

* * *

 **8.35pm**

Ruby looked up upon hearing the clack of high heels on tarmac and her mouth instantly fell open at the sight before her.

"Holy fucking shit." She breathed. Emma paused, looking down at herself.

"What?" She asked.

"You look… I mean you always look… But tonight you look…" She trailed off, her eyes running over Emma's form in wonder.

"Thanks… I think?" Emma grinned.

"Seriously, Em. I'm struggling not to rip your clothes off right now."

"Please don't, it took me forever to get ready." Emma joked, giving Ruby a once over. She too, was wearing a tight fitting dress with a plunging neckline. Hers, however, was red, far too short, and the amount of cleavage that was on display was most definitely not appropriate for a University charity event.

"Did you get lost on your way to your shift at The Playboy Club?" Emma mocked.

"Fuck you." Ruby laughed, pushing Emma lightly on the shoulder, glancing down at her outfit. "Too much?" She asked.

"Maybe a little."

"Oh well." Ruby shrugged. "If you've got it, flaunt it, right?" She grinned. Emma laughed and grabbed her hand.

"Come on Jenna Jameson, lets get inside." She said, pulling her towards the entrance.

The two girls wandered into the St. Clair Hall, glancing around the room, which was filled with groups of students and faculty talking and laughing in small groups. Waiters were weaving in and around the guests, serving canapés and glasses of champagne.

"Damn, this shit is fancy." Ruby whistled.

"I know right." Emma whispered, not quite believing it herself. The St. Clair Hall was known for being the oldest, and certainly most beautiful place on campus. Emma had never actually been inside. Her eyes wandered around the room, taking in the rich tapestries and gold gilt framed portraits that adorned the deep mahogany walls. In one corner of the room was a beautiful, black grand piano, which the University had hired someone to play for the evening. Large panelled windows to the right side of the room, draped in plush green curtains, revealed beautiful gardens.

"Champagne, ladies?" A waiter asked, holding up a silver tray in front of them.

"Hell yes." Ruby smiled, grabbing two flutes for her and Emma.

"Cheers." Emma smiled, holding up her glass and clinking it against Ruby's. Ruby glanced over Emma's shoulder.

"Damn. The Evil Queen looks hot tonight. If I wasn't so terrified of her, I might actually go flirt a little." She grinned appreciatively. Emma turned to where Ruby was looking.

The entire room came to a grinding halt, the voices around her muffled and incoherent. Her heart skipped mercilessly in her chest, her mouth hanging open as her eyes fell upon the brunette. There she was, talking to the head of the Art History department, Regina. Dressed in a beautiful, long, black gown, with a slit up one side, reaching just above her knee. An elegant neckline revealed a subtle amount of cleavage, complimented by a thick gold necklace and a pair of gold drop earrings. Her silky hair fell just below her shoulders, which she pushed back in a slow motion sweep. She turned slightly, her eyes catching Emma's. Dark chocolate eyes ran down the length of Emma's body and back up to her green eyes, slightly widened. Emma gave her a small smile and slight nod, which the Professor returned, before turning back to her conversation.

"Hello, earth to Emma!?" Ruby called from behind her. Emma snapped out of her daze and turned to face the brunette.

"What are you staring at?" She asked suspiciously. Emma cleared her throat awkwardly.

"Uh. Nothing. Come on, let's go get some free alcohol." She replied, necking the rest of her champagne and pulling Ruby towards the bar.

"Now you're talking." She grinned.

 **9pm**

The two girls had been by the bar, drinking and laughing for almost half an hour. Emma had been stealing glances at Regina every so often. She was with a man that Emma had never seen before. He was handsome, Emma thought. But he wasn't being subtle about the way he stared at Regina's chest. The brunette showed little interest in him, instead talking to other members of faculty, which pleased Emma greatly.

"So, you're telling me, you've never even seen a real life dick?" Ruby half shouted. Emma shushed her after noticing several people glance in their direction.

"No." Emma laughed, wrinkling her nose.

"That's insane." She replied, shaking her head.

"Maybe to you, slut." Emma mocked.

"Fuck you." Ruby laughed. "So you'd never sleep with a dude?"

"That's pretty much what lesbian means, Rubes." Emma replied sarcastically.

"Yeah but I mean, like, aren't you a little curious?" She asked interestedly. Emma sipped on her third glass of champagne.

"Not really. I mean, maybe a little, but not enough to let a guy fuck me." She shrugged.

"You're missing out." Ruby stated. Emma narrowed her eyes.

"You think guys are better in bed than girls?"

"I never said that. It depends on the person, and what kind of sex you want. Girls are sexy, sensual, soft. Guys are rough, hard, fun. I like a bit of both." Ruby grinned mischievously. Emma laughed, pausing to glance at Ruby for a moment.

"What about me?" She asked flirtatiously. Ruby narrowed her darkening eyes and leant in to Emma's ear.

"You made me come harder than anyone ever has in my life." She whispered. Emma swallowed thickly.

"Emma!" Called a voice behind her. She glanced at Ruby, who was leaning back in her stool triumphantly, regarding her with a hungry smirk whilst sipping her champagne. Emma turned round and saw Mulan heading towards her.

"Hey Mulan." She smiled warmly. Standing up to give her a hug. Mulan looked Emma over and started to blush.

"Wow, Emma, you look… Amazing." She breathed.

"Thanks Mulan, you don't look so bad yourself." Emma replied with a smile, glancing over Mulan. She did look really good. She was wearing a deep emerald, strapless gown. Her long, thick black hair, parted down the middle, fell in loose waves, framing her beautiful face. She regarded the blonde with a shy smile. Emma turned to Ruby.

"Ruby, this is Mulan. Mulan, Ruby." She said, introducing the two girls. Ruby extended a hand and gave Mulan a once over.

"Pleasure." She drawled. Emma gave her a pointed look.

"How do you guys know each other?" Mulan asked. Ruby grinned. Emma interrupted her before she had a chance to say anything.

"We have class together." She blurted. Ruby raised an eyebrow at her.

"Among other extracurricular activities." She added with a suggestive smile. Mulan's face fell slightly, aware of the insinuation behind Ruby's words. Emma glared at Ruby, who just continued to smile at her like nothing was wrong.

"Oh, okay. Well, uh. I should probably leave you guys to it, August will be pissed if I leave him for too long." She said awkwardly. "Bye, Em. Nice to meet you Ruby." She finished before wandering off.

"Bye." Emma and Ruby both said at the same time, Ruby added a sarcastic wave to her farewell.

"Seriously?" Emma turned to Ruby with a glower.

"Oh, come on. It was too easy, I couldn't help myself." She grinned. Emma sighed and sat back in her stool.

"You're a real asshole sometimes, Ruby. You know that, right?" She snapped.

"Yeah. But you love it." She whispered, laughing and taking another sip of her champagne.

 **9.30**

Emma was wandering around the hall, sipping from her flute and looking for something to eat. She was feeling quite peckish after her fourth glass of champagne. Luckily, she had a pretty high tolerance level for alcohol and wasn't feeling too drunk yet. Ruby, on the other hand, was already slurring her words and hitting on every attractive person in the room. Emma had left her with another guy from her research project, Neal, whom Ruby had been flirting shamelessly with. He certainly didn't seem to mind when Emma excused herself. She had stopped by one of the extravagant panelled windows and was looking out over the gardens when she heard her name.

"Ms. Swan, I'm glad you could make it." Came that husky voice that Emma dreamed of so often. Emma turned, her heart pounding in her chest when she saw the Professor up close and just how beautiful she looked, her eyes dropping to her full, red lips, which retained a hint of their usual smirk. Emma couldn't help it as her eyes wandered down over Regina's body.

"Regina, you look… Stunning." She breathed, her eyes glancing back up into Regina's dark chocolate pools, she felt her legs melting at the sight of them.

"Thank you. You look very lovely yourself." Regina smiled, taking in Emma's appearance. Emma was trying to calm the butterflies in her stomach, but the close proximity of Regina's body caused her palms to sweat and her mouth to run dry.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" Regina asked. Emma nodded.

"It's really beautiful in here." She breathed, glancing around the room, her eyes quickly pulled back by the brunettes.

"It is, rather. Have you seen the portraits in the hallway?" She asked.

"No, I'm afraid I've been rather distracted. There are lots of beautiful things in here tonight." Emma smiled flirtatiously. Regina smiled back, a hint of a blush found it's way up her neck.

"I agree." She replied, staring at Emma, who swallowed thickly. "I have something for you." Regina began.

"Oh?"

"A book."

"Oh." Emma replied disappointedly.

"I was hoping you might read some of it before Monday's meeting, I would be interested to hear your thoughts." Emma nodded.

"Sure, do you need me to pick it up from somewhere?"

"Actually, I'll be on campus tomorrow, so if you like I can drop it by your dorm room?"

"You don't have to do that, Regina."

"It's really no trouble."

"Okay then, thanks."

"I'll bring it over before midday."

"I'll start reading tomorrow, it'll be the perfect hangover cure." Emma smiled, lifting her champagne glass. Regina laughed.

"Ah yes, I noticed you and Ms. Lucas taking advantage of the open bar." She smirked. Emma laughed.

"Typical freshmen." She smiled. Regina narrowed her eyes.

"I'd hardly call you a typical freshman, Ms. Swan." She said playfully. Emma grinned.

"Well, you're certainly not an average Professor." She replied coyly. The smirk on Regina's face grew wider.

"Oh, Ms. Swan. What am I going to do with you?" She quipped. Emma leaned in closer, their faces mere inches from each other.

"I don't know, but I hope I find out." She said suggestively, her eyes darkening. Regina raised an eyebrow, but she couldn't ignore the rush of desire that pooled in her stomach.

"So." Emma continued, sipping on her champagne. "Did you manage to score a date?" She mused.

"I suppose. Though I would hardly call it a date." Regina sighed.

"That bad, huh?" Emma grinned.

"My friend set me up with him. God knows why, he's not exactly to my taste." She grimaced. Regina glanced across the room. Emma followed her gaze. Sure enough, there he was, flirting with a young student and staring blatantly at her chest. Emma snorted.

"Classy." She remarked. Regina regarded her with a small smirk.

"Rather her than me." She mused. Emma laughed.

"You should have taken up my offer."

"I would hardly call 'need a date?' An offer, Ms. Swan." She retorted.

"Should I have courted you with roses and chocolates? A flash dance perhaps?"

"It certainly wouldn't have hurt your chances."

"I'll remember that for next time, then."

"Next time." Regina smiled.

"Hello ladies." Regina and Emma both frowned at the intrusion. Turning their gazes to meet that of the man they had just been mocking. Emma heard Regina groan quietly, then suck in a long breath.

"Dr. Whale, this is one of my most promising students, Emma Swan." She said, attempting a smile. The doctor looked her up and down with an appreciative grin, pausing, of course, to stare at her cleavage a moment longer than appropriate.

"Up here, doc." Emma said sarcastically, the doctor met her gaze, unashamed by her comment. Regina bit her lip, suppressing a laugh.

"Please, call me Victor." He said with a flirtatious wink, holding out his hand. Emma took it, trying her best to give a convincing smile. Regina rolled her eyes.

"So, Regina is your Professor? What's that like?" He asked, glancing between the two women, obviously thinking something inappropriate.

"It has it's moments." Emma mused. Regina cocked an eyebrow at her.

"I bet." Victor retorted. Emma grimaced at the obvious suggestion in his tone.

"Victor." Regina snapped, her face quickly softening into a sickly smile. "Would you be a dear and fetch Emma and I some more champagne?" She asked. Victor glanced between the two women.

"Sure." He nodded. "Anything for the two most beautiful women in the room." He finished with a wink, wandering off in search of a waiter. Emma and Regina both looked at each other and erupted into a short bout of laughter.

"Wow." Emma stated. "He's a keeper."

"Oh god, he's awful." Regina groaned. "What was Katherine thinking?" She wondered aloud.

"He was right about one thing, though." Emma smiled. Regina looked at her curiously.

"What's that?" She asked. Emma leaned in, slowly, Regina's hair lightly brushing her cheek. She smelt of spiced apples. Emma breathed in deeply, the aroma filling her head and making it spin, it was intoxicating, like everything else about the brunette.

"You are definitely the most beautiful woman in the room." She whispered. Regina closed her eyes. Emma stepped back, dark brown eyes met green. For a moment it was just the two of them, everything and everyone else disappeared. Regina looked like she wanted to say something, but was holding back. Emma gazed forlornly at the beautiful brunette, the moment lost in words that were not said.

"I'd better get back to my date." Emma said quietly. Regina nodded, disappointment flooding through her.

"Enjoy the rest of your evening, Ms. Swan." She replied with a small smile.

"You too, Regina." The blonde finished, casting one last glance at the beautiful woman before turning around and waking off to find Ruby, leaving Regina to stare after her.

 **10.30pm**

Emma wandered down the hallway, pausing to look at the portraits which adorned the walls. Her eyes were glazing over a particularly beautiful painting when she heard footsteps approaching, she turned to find Robin stumbling in her direction.

"Well, if it isn't little miss perfect." He slurred. He was clearly drunk. Emma frowned.

"What do you want, Robin?" She asked.

"Just to bask in your presence. You are a genius after all." He replied nastily. Emma raised an eyebrow.

"If you're lucky, maybe some of it will rub off on you." She smiled sweetly.

"Like I need your help, Swan." He scoffed.

"I'm sure Professor Mills would disagree." She stared. The tips of Robin's ears turned pink.

"Oh please, you're just the flavour of the month." He sneered.

"Sure." She smiled, completely unfazed by his drunken insults. Robin blinked, his lips curling into a hateful smirk.

"I saw you with Ruby Lucas, my girlfriend told me you guys are fucking. I've gotta say, she seems a little beneath you, Swan. But then again, with tits like that, I guess it does't really matter what comes out of her mouth." He smiled nastily.

"Don't fucking talk about…" She snarled, pausing for a moment and frowning. "Who's your girlfriend?"

"Aurora Rose" He slurred. Emma snorted.

"What's so god damn funny?" He snapped. Emma leaned in, regarding Robin with a nasty smile.

"Well, Robin, I assumed any girlfriend of yours would be into cunts, but I don't think you know just how much." She spat. Robin turned a deep shade of crimson, his head looked like it was about to explode.

"What the fuck do you mean by that? You fucking DYKE!" He shouted, reaching out to grab Emma, who stepped back before he could.

"MR. HOOD" A voice bellowed at them. They both turned round to find Regina marching towards them, her black dress trailing gracefully behind her, a look of pure fury on her face. Emma heard Robin swallow. She was trying to focus on anything but the way the slit in her dress revealed an expanse of thigh with every step. The brunette quickly reached them, her thunderous gaze boring into Robin, who shuffled awkwardly.

"I suggest you leave immediately, Mr. Hood. I will not tolerate that kind of discrimination at a University event, or at all for that matter." She snapped. Robin mumbled an apology and began to walk away, Regina turned after him.

"After you apologise to Ms. Swan." She finished. Robin glared at her, then at Emma.

"Sorry." He said through gritted teeth. Emma raised an eyebrow.

"And you can consider yourself removed from the project, effective immediately." Regina said harshly. Robin's head snapped up.

"What?" He said incredulously.

"I think that's more than befitting, considering your recent lack of useful contribution, combined with the events that occurred moments ago." Regina stated. Robin stared between the two women, an evil smirk forming on his lips.

"Oh, I get it. You two are fucking. Dyke's stick together, right?" He spat. Regina stared him down with a look of pure contempt, but even Emma could see the fire in her eyes. Robin's eyes widened when he noticed the look the Professor was giving him. She leaned in slowly, purposefully.

"I don't think you know just who you're talking to, Mr. Hood. Unless you want to see yourself failing your senior year, or better yet, expelled, I would stay out of my sight for the next 5 months. In fact, for the rest of your pitiful life." She sneered, her eyes burning into him. He took a step back, quickly turned on his heel and rushed off down the hall. The two women stared after him as he disappeared out of sight.

"Damn." Emma breathed "That was awesome." She said, turning to look at Regina, who was glancing at her worriedly.

"Are you alright, Emma?" She asked. "He didn't..?" Emma shook her head.

"No, he didn't touch me." She replied. Regina nodded.

"What happened?" She asked.

"I may have insinuated that his girlfriend is gay." Emma grinned. Regina looked at her with a raised brow, then let out a throaty laugh.

"Is she?" She asked. Emma shrugged.

"Either that, or she's bored of his two inch dick." Regina laughed even harder. Emma stared at her, captivated by her beauty, she couldn't keep her eyes off her, the way her eyes shone when she laughed, her full lips when she smiled. Emma ran a hand through her hair.

"Thank you. For you know, saving me." She smiled.

"Something tells me you would have done alright on your own." Regina mused.

"Probably, but it's nice to know I have a knight in shining armour somewhere out there." She grinned. Regina chuckled. "But instead of armour, can you wear that dress whenever you save me?" She flirted, her eyes gazing over the brunette's body. Regina raised an eyebrow.

"Only if you wear that dress whenever you need saving." She flirted back, a glint in her eye. The two women stared at each other for several moments. Emma could feel the butterflies dancing in her stomach. Her eyes roamed over Regina's face, glancing over perfectly arched brows, captivating brown eyes and high cheekbones before settling on her lips. _Fuck it._ She thought, stepping forward and reaching out a hand to Regina's neck. She didn't think, couldn't think, her eyes focused on Regina's inviting mouth. She leaned in, her eyes closing. She felt their lips brush ever so slightly before Regina took a step back.

"Emma… I." She breathed. Emma's eyes shot open, her hand falling to her side. The butterflies in her stomach were overtaken by a gripping panic. She glanced up at Regina, who was regarding her with an apologetic expression.

"Oh. Oh my god." Emma said, shaking her head, mortification filling her entire body. "I'm so sorry. I thought-"

"No, it's not-" Regina began.

"No, no. Please, that was my fault. I'm just going to-" Emma stammered, humiliated. She turned on her heel and rushed out of the hallway as fast as her heels would carry her.

"Emma" Regina called after her, but she didn't look back, couldn't look back. She pushed through the throngs of people, heading for the bar, her head swimming. She needed to find Ruby and get the hell out of there. What had she done? She had just kissed Regina, and Regina had _rejected_ her. Would she be kicked off the project? Probably. She had been totally inappropriate. She didn't think she could ever face Regina again. But... She thought she had seen something in the Professors eyes before she kissed her, the same want she felt, reflected back at her. She swore she saw it... No. She was just seeing what she wanted to see. Regina was her teacher, her _Professor_ , of course she wouldn't get involved with a student, a freshman at that. She should have figured that out when she saw her reject Robin. But then, they had gone for coffee, hadn't they? They had talked and flirted. Emma knew Regina had flirted back, so she hadn't acted totally out of the blue, but still the Professor had backed away. Emma had pushed too much, too soon, she resigned. She glanced around the room, looking for Ruby, but couldn't see her anywhere. She reached the bar and noticed Mulan sitting alone on one of the stools, nursing a bourbon. Emma tried to push the kiss to the back of her mind as she approached the brunette.

"Hey." She said, touching Mulan's arm. "Have you seen Ruby?" She asked. Mulan turned to her with a sad look.

"Oh. Yeah, actually. I saw her leave about 15 minutes ago with Neal." She replied. Emma sighed and plopped down on the barstool next to Mulan, running a hand through her hair. _Fucking Ruby._ She thought.

"You okay?" She asked, staring at her.

"Yeah, sorry. It's just been a shitty night." She sighed. Mulan nodded and raised her glass.

"For you and me both." She agreed. Emma looked at her.

"What happened?"

"Ran into my ex with her new girlfriend, who is totally gorgeous, and then August ditched me for some blonde." She said miserably. August was another guy in their group for Professor Mills' project.

"August?" Emma asked. "Are you guys..?" She trailed off. Mulan snorted.

"No. I'm gay." She replied.

"Cheers to that." Emma said, grabbing Mulan's bourbon and taking a big sip, who laughed softly in response. "Sorry about your ex. That sucks." Emma continued, regarding her with a sad smile.

"Yep. And August knew I was upset about it, but that didn't stop him from leaving me here alone so he could bang some slutty sorority girl." She snapped. "He can be a real asshole sometimes." She sighed.

"Well, you're not alone now." Emma smiled, nudging her shoulder. Mulan smiled back. Emma glanced around, saw no one was looking in their direction and turned to Mulan with a mischievous smile.

"Wanna get out of here?" She asked, leaning over the bar counter and grabbing a bottle of tequila, holding it up tauntingly. Mulan stared after her open mouthed, her lips quickly curling upwards into a wide grin.

"Let's do it."

* * *

 **I hope you all enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it! :) Thank you again for all your follows/faves and lovely words. Keep 'em coming!**

 **Stay tuned for Chapter 8! :)**


	8. Chapter 8: The Morning After

**Hey guys!**

 **I'm so sorry about the long wait for this chapter. My mac charger broke and I, being the budget bitch that I am, ordered the cheapest one which took over 2 weeks to arrive. Without further ado, let's get back to it! Enjoy.**

* * *

 **10am**

 _Knock. Knock. Knock._ Emma shot up, all the blood rushing to her head at once, causing it to pound mercilessly. She pushed the heels of her hands into her forehead to try and calm the throbbing. It didn't work. She glanced around the room, a familiar weak feeling in her stomach. Man, she was _hungover. What the hell happened last night?_ She thought, glancing around her. Her eyes widened when she saw Mulan asleep beside her. _Oh god._ She groaned internally, cursing herself. The door to her room knocked again. She would have to deal with Mulan later. She threw off the covers, grabbed a t-shirt from the back of her desk chair, shoved it on and walked over to the door, still in her underwear. She opened it a little more forcefully than she meant to, her stomach dropping when she came face to face with Regina, who's eyes widened when she looked down and was greeted by a pair of red lace panties and Emma's long, toned legs. Regina swallowed and focused on keeping her eye line above neck level. Emma blinked a few times, still drowsy from sleep, but the memories of their kiss the previous night flooded back instantly. Her face flushed as she awkwardly pulled her t-shirt down in an attempt to cover herself.

"Regina uh… What are you doing here?" She asked, her voice husky due to lack of hydration.

"I came to drop off the book I told you about last night." She stated, still a little shocked over Emma's appearance. She handed the book over, the blonde reached out and took it slowly.

"Oh, of course. Sorry, I forgot all about that." She replied. Regina regarded her with a bemused smirk.

"Rough night?" She asked with a raised brow. Emma opened her mouth to reply when a voice sounded behind her.

"Emma?" A soft voice called out confusedly. Regina's eyebrows shot up to her hairline. Emma closed her eyes and exhaled.

"Oh. I'm sorry, Ms. Swan. I didn't realise you were… indisposed." She said awkwardly, clearing her throat.

"I. Uh." She attempted pathetically.

"I best be going, enjoy the book." She added quickly before turning on her heel and striding off down the hallway. Emma stared after her, then closed the door slowly and leant against it, sighing.

"Was that?" Mulan asked, sitting up. Emma looked up at her.

"Yep." She stated.

"Oh, god." Mulan groaned, collapsing back onto the bed, covering her face with her hands. "Did she see me?" She asked.

"No." Emma shook her head, walking over to her desk, grabbing a pair of sweats and pulling them on.

"Are you okay?" Mulan asked carefully.

"Yeah. Fine. Sorry. Hungover." Emma managed.

"Me too." Mulan breathed. "Why was she here?" She asked curiously.

"She came to drop off a book."

"Oh." Mulan paused, glancing at Emma. Emma slowly turned round to acknowledge Mulan, awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck.

"Um… Did we..?" She asked, trying and failing to remember what happened last night after they had gotten back to her dorm room. The only thing that cut through her hazy memory was that she had tried to kiss Regina. The one thing she wished she could forget.

"Oh. Ha. No." Mulan replied, running a hand through her hair. "Probably a good thing, it sounds like you've got enough drama going on in that department." She finished, laughing slightly. Emma stiffened. Had she told Mulan about Regina? _God damn it._ She cursed herself for getting so drunk.

"What uh. What do you mean?" She asked carefully. Mulan looked at her with an amused smile.

"You don't remember anything, do you?" She asked. Emma shook her head.

"Not a thing." She laughed awkwardly.

"So, we got back here, you drank two thirds of that bottle of tequila and then you told me about what happened with your friend Belle." She explained. Emma felt her shoulders relax slightly. Telling Mulan about Belle was less mortifying than Regina.

"Oh. God. I did? I'm so sorry." She groaned embarrassedly.

"It's fine, Emma, seriously." Mulan laughed.

"You must think I'm an asshole." Emma sighed, sitting on the end of her bed.

"Not at all. You just got caught up in a shitty situation. It happens to all of us." Mulan shrugged.

"Really? You've slept with your straight best friend who's in a relationship with another friend, who is desperately in love with her, before?" Emma asked sarcastically.

"Well… no." Mulan resigned. "But I've made my fair share of bad decisions." She offered.

"Like what?" Emma asked curiously.

"That's a conversation for another drunken evening." Mulan smiled.

"Hey! No fair! I told you about my shitty love life." Emma whined. Mulan laughed. Emma paused and glanced at her.

"Did I… Talk about anything else last night?" She asked carefully.

"I don't think so." Mulan frowned. "Why? Did you miss out a chapter of 'Emma's dramatic life?'" She grinned.

"It sounds like I only scratched the surface." Emma replied, exhaling loudly.

"Well, now I'm intrigued." Mulan grinned.

"Well, that's a conversation for another drunken evening." Emma grinned back. Mulan grabbed a pillow from under her head and hit Emma with it lightly.

"Careful. Two lesbians plus a pillow fight could only end in disaster." Emma laughed. Mulan laughed back heartily.

"You're right, if I'm not careful I might feature in a chapter of 'Emma's dramatic life.' She mused.

"Please don't make that into a thing." Emma whined.

"Too late. It's officially a thing. I might even try and get it published." Mulan grinned.

Emma chuckled lightly.

"Anyway, I should probably get dressed and head home." Mulan continued, glancing around the room for her dress, which was draped over the back of Emma's desk chair.

"Oh yeah, sure." Emma replied, walking over to retrieve Mulan's dress.

"Thanks. For cheering me up last night. I had fun." She smiled.

"Any time." Emma grinned.

 **10.15am**

Regina closed the door to her office and slumped into her desk chair, her head falling into her hands. She began to massage her temples. _What the hell is going on with me?_ She thought to herself, the humiliating events of 15 minutes ago still at the forefront of her mind. She never let herself get this worked up about anyone, let alone a student, a _female_ student. She absentmindedly brushed her fingers over her lips, remembering their brief kiss last night. _What are you doing?_ She thought, quickly pulling her fingers away. _You didn't let that kiss happen for a reason._ But now she was beginning to wonder what that reason was. She had intended to go over to Emma's dorm room, give her the book and explain her reasons for not letting it go any further the previous night. What she wasn't expecting was a half-naked Emma, and how she'd feel seeing that she'd spent the night with someone. Probably that airhead Ruby Lucas. She felt… _jealous._ It wasn't a feeling she was used to. She was Regina Mills after all, The Evil Queen, as her students had so aptly named her. And Emma was her _student._ She had, had plenty of opportunities to sleep with students before, but had never acted upon it. She knew professors that did, plenty of them, but she had always thought it to be wildly inappropriate, morally wrong, reckless and irresponsible. But Emma… There was something about her. She was so different to her other students, she was smart, incredibly smart, mature, confident, _sexy…_ Regina groaned. This was bad. She knew she was partly to blame for letting it go this far, for having coffee with the blonde, opening up to her, _flirting_ with her. But she couldn't help herself, there was something about her that was so inviting, so easy to be around, so _attractive._ Images of Emma in the black dress she was wearing at the gala raced through Regina's mind, she had practically had to force herself to stop her mouth from falling open at the sight of her. When Emma had leaned in to kiss her, Regina had wanted to let it happen, she almost did, but she couldn't. It was wrong. She knew she had to talk to Emma, tell her that they couldn't go on the way they had been. It was the only way.

 **10.16am**

"Bye, Em." Mulan gave her a kiss on the cheek before walking off down the hall.

"Bye." Emma smiled, about to close the door when she noticed David leaving Belle's room, staring after Mulan.

"She's cute." He grinned, glancing at Emma, who rolled her eyes internally. _Not now_. She thought. The last thing she needed was a conversation with David, which would inevitably wind up being a conversation about Belle.

"Did you meet her last night?" He asked, walking over to Emma, who folded her arms and leant against the doorway, she hoped Belle couldn't hear their conversation.

"We're working on Professor Mills' project together." She replied coolly.

"Ah. I've heard about her. Apparently she's a real hardass. Doesn't she have a nickname? Ice bitch or something?" He asked.

"Evil Queen." Emma smiled. David laughed.

"That's it. You're working with her?"

"Yep."

"Is it awful?"

"No. She's actually pretty cool once you get to know her." Emma shrugged. David raised an eyebrow.

"You're getting to know her, eh Swan?" He grinned. Emma laughed and glanced at the floor.

"I wish." She said under her breath. A wave of humiliation crashing over her at the remembrance of last night's and this mornings events. "You heading back to your dorm?" She asked, wanting the conversation to be over.

"Yeah, got some work to do. It's hard to leave Belle though." He replied, smiling. His eyes gazing wistfully into the distance. Emma suppressed a snort.

"I bet." She quipped. He paused and stared at her for a moment.

"You two are close. Does she ever talk about me?" He asked. Emma swallowed and ran a hand through her hair.

"Uh. David. I don't think Belle would like it if I-"

"Oh, no. I know, you're right. Sorry." He sighed. "It's just, I know you guys are close, so I thought I'd ask… It's so hard to get a read on her sometimes, you know? Like, sometimes I think she's really into it, us, I mean. And then other times it's like she's distracted. I don't know. I really like her, you know? I just don't want her to get bored of me." He said sadly. Emma felt guilt creep over her.

"I. I don't know David. She's never really spoken to me about it. I'm not really anyone's go to for boy problems." David laughed. "But, she seems really happy with you. So, I wouldn't worry about it." She finished, attempting a smile, but feeling hideously guilty.

"Okay. Sure. Thanks, Em." He smiled. "I'll see you later." He said with a wave, walking off down the hall. Emma let herself into her room and collapsed onto her bed, groaning. Her phone buzzed beside her, she reached over to her bedside table and picked it up, reading the message on the screen.

 _Hey. Sorry about last night, had way too much tequila. What happened to you?_

It was from Ruby, Emma sighed, unlocking her phone and typing a response.

 _Same, left just after you I think. I hear you went home with Neal? ;)_

 _I can neither confirm or deny this accusation. The real question is, who did you go home with? ;)_

 _A true lady does not kiss and tell._

 _:O So you did go home with someone?_

 _I can neither confirm or deny this accusation._

 _Ha ha. I'm coming over later, we have much to discuss._

 _Sure, I could use the company._

 _I'll be there around 5?_

 _I await your arrival with bated breath._

 _Loser._

Emma was growing quite fond of Ruby, her inappropriateness aside, she was really fun to hang out with.

 **5.05pm**

"So. Dish." Ruby grinned, bounding past Emma and flopping onto her bed. Emma closed the door.

"Hi to you too." She said sarcastically. Ruby rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. Hey, how are ya? Good, great. Now spill." She said, sitting up, her eyes gleaming with anticipation. Now it was Emma's turn to roll her eyes, a smile tugging at the corners of her lips.

"You first."

"Nu-uh! I asked first!" She huffed, folding her arms.

"I'm not telling you anything, unless you give me something good."

"Okay, fine. I went home with Neal." She shrugged.

"And?" Emma asked, sitting down next to the brunette.

"And nothing." She shrugged again. Emma narrowed her eyes.

"Yeah, right. Come on, I want the dirty details." Emma replied, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Perv." Ruby grinned. She bit her lip. "Seriously though, nothing happened." Emma's eyes widened.

"What? Was he too drunk to get it up or something?" She asked.

"No, nothing like that. He was…" She paused, thinking for a moment. "It was weird, any guy in that situation would have totally taken advantage, I mean, I was pretty wasted and obviously DTF. Like seriously, what guy turns this down?" She said, gesturing to her body. Emma snorted.

"Laugh all you want, you couldn't say no." She snapped playfully. Emma gave her a slight glare and punched her lightly on the arm. She had a point.

"So, what happened?" She asked.

"He undressed me, put me in a pair of pyjamas, tucked me into bed and left." Emma let out a short laugh. _Oh Neal, who said chivalry was dead?_ She thought to herself. "Seriously, I was half expecting him to read me a frickin' bed time story." She complained. Emma smiled.

"Sounds like a gentleman to me. Did you get his number?" She asked.

"He left it for me. But I'm kind of embarrassed to call him. I mean, I was pretty forward and he turned me down. What does that even mean?" She asked confusedly.

"It means he's a nice guy, and you should call him. Seriously, I've seen the guys you go for and they're all assholes. Neal is smart, handsome, nice, cool. You should totally go for it." Emma said. The brunette stared at her for a moment, her mind wandering.

"Maybe I will." She resigned. "Okay." She continued, the grin returning. "What happened to you last night?" She paused. "You know… I saw you talking to the Evil Queen, it looked like a pretty intimate conversation. Is there something going on between you two?" She asked eagerly. Emma stared at her for a moment, wondering if she should tell her about what had happened between her and Regina. Honestly, she was desperate to talk to someone about it, and Ruby was probably the only person who would be honest and not judgemental. But could she keep it a secret? Ruby had a pretty big mouth, but Emma weirdly trusted the brunette. She took a deep breath.

"I kissed her." She blurted. Ruby's eyes widened and the the gleam in her eye shone brighter than Emma thought possible.

"No. Fucking. Way." She stated. Emma nodded.

"But she pulled away."

Ruby frowned.

"Damn, that's cold." She resigned.

"Right." Emma sighed.

"Okay, woah. Back up. Start at the beginning please, how long has this been going on?" She asked, sitting up excitedly.

Emma explained their mild flirtations over the past month or so, their conversation at the coffee shop, their interactions at the gala, the many intimate looks. Ruby was listening so attentively Emma was worried she might get a migraine.

"Holy shit." She breathed when Emma had finished.

"I know, I feel like such an idiot." Emma groaned.

"Dude no, from what I'm hearing it sounds like she's totally into you."

"What? But she pulled away." Emma said confusedly.

"Yeah, okay, but you were at a university event, anyone could have seen you. And I highly doubt the Evil Queen is into having affairs with her students, bending the rules does not seem like her style, she's way too uptight to do anything mildly exciting" She said, rolling her eyes. "She's probably torn between her attraction to you, and doing something she thinks is wrong." Emma blinked. That actually made sense.

"But how can I be sure?" She asked.

"You can't, it's up to her to make the next move. I wouldn't push it any more, Em." Ruby resigned.

"You're right. You know, you're surprisingly good with advice."

"I watch a lot of TV dramas." Ruby shrugged. Emma laughed.

"Thanks. For being so understanding." She smiled.

"Anytime. But if you guys ever have sex, please take videos and send them my way." She winked. Emma laughed despite herself. _And she's back._

"Hey, Emma did I leave my-" Emma and Ruby looked up at the intrusion and saw Belle had entered Emma's room unannounced. She halted mid sentence and stared between the two of them. _Oh shit._ Thought Emma.

"What is she doing here?" She asked, glaring at Ruby.

"Excuse me?" Ruby responded. Her voice sounded annoyed, but Emma could tell from her expression that she was amused.

"Did she stay here last night?" Belle snapped. Ruby looked at Emma as if to say _what the fuck?_ Emma gave her a pointed look and turned back to Belle, standing up.

"No, she just got here like 10 minutes ago." She said carefully.

"Why?" Belle asked, as if affronted by the concept.

"Because she wanted to hang out with someone who doesn't constantly have a stick up their ass." Ruby said dismissively, casually collapsing back onto Emma's bed.

"Ruby, don't." Emma said warningly. Belle was looking at Ruby like she might stab her at any moment.

"Oh, so she chose to hang out with a two faced slut instead?" Belle spat. Emma's eyes widened. Ruby sat up, her eyes narrowed at Belle.

"What did you just call me?" She asked incredulously, standing up.

"Okay, enough." Emma demanded. Both brunette's looked at her, then glared at each other.

"What is your problem, princess? I know you're pathetically in love with Emma, but it's none of your business if we hang out." Ruby snapped. Belle's face flushed.

"Ruby. Stay out of it." Emma said through gritted teeth. Ruby looked between Emma and Belle for a moment before her eyebrows raised and a short exhale escaped her lungs.

"Oh, Emma. You didn't." Emma closed her eyes. Belle's eyes were glued to the floor, her arms folded. Ruby shook her head and reached for her bag. "I am not getting involved in this shit storm." She stated, brushing past Emma and Belle. "I'll call you later, Em." She said sympathetically before letting herself out. Emma walked tentatively towards Belle.

"Belle-"

"I can't see you anymore." She whispered, her eyes never leaving the floor.

"What?" Emma asked, dumbfounded.

"I can't be around you, it's making me crazy." She said, looking up at her finally, her eyes swimming with tears. Emma felt a lump form in her throat.

"Belle, please don't do this." She pleaded.

"I'm sorry." She said quickly before rushing out of her room, leaving Emma to stare at the door in shocked silence. She stood there for a minute or so before slowly walking over to her bed and picking up her phone, dialling the only person she needed to speak to right now.

"Emma! How are you, honey? I miss you." Her mom called brightly down the phone. Emma smiled at the sound of her voice. She hadn't spoken to her mom in a few weeks, and had really been missing her lately.

"I miss you too mom." She managed, her voice catching.

"What's the matter, honey?" She asked.

"Nothing. I just." She choked, tears spilling down her cheeks.

"Emma, are you okay? Are you hurt? Do you need me to come get you?" She asked desperately.

"No, mom. I'm fine. I'm sorry, I don't know why I'm crying." Emma sobbed, wiping at her cheeks.

"What is it, baby?" Her mom asked soothingly. Emma huffed in frustration and flung herself back onto her bed.

"Everything is just a little out of control at the moment." She sniffed.

"Is it your school work? Are you taking on too much?" She asked.

"No, no. Well, I mean, yes I'm really busy with school work, but that's not why I'm upset."

"Is it a girl?" Mary Margaret asked calmly.

"No. Yes. Kind of." Emma attempted.

"Talk to me honey, tell me what's going on."

Emma explained the situation with Belle, including the bits about Ruby and conveniently leaving out the drama with Regina. Though she usually shared everything with her mom, somehow she didn't think she would be too thrilled about her attempted make out session with her Professor.

"Well, Emma. You've certainly found yourself in a bit of a pickle there." Mary Margaret offered.

"Gee, thanks mom." Emma rolled her eyes.

"Don't you roll your eyes at me, Emma Swan." Her mother stated. Emma rolled her eyes again. She always knew.

"Look, honey. I know you're hurt, but there's not a lot you can do right now. It sounds like Belle is very conflicted, but she's told you what she wants and you need to respect that and leave her alone for a while so she can sort out whatever she's dealing with herself. It's not your fault, sweetheart. She made her choice, it's not up to you to save her, or her relationship. She's the only one who can decide whether or not she tells her boyfriend. And as for your friendship, I'm sure she will realise, in time, that she doesn't want to let it go. You just need to give it time, sweetheart." Mary Margaret said calmly.

"I don't know, mom. You didn't see her face. She looked so… Broken. I feel so guilty for putting her in this position, and now I feel like if I try to help I'll just make it worse. I should never have… But she…" Emma sighed. "Her boyfriend… He's a nice guy, you know? We're all friends. I can't bear to look him in the eye." She said sadly.

"I know sweetheart, that's a horrible position to be in. But, like I said, whether or not she tells her boyfriend, it's her decision to make, and you just have to live with it."

"I know." Emma grumbled. Her mom was always right. "What if I've fucked everything up between us?" She asked miserably.

"Language, Emma." Mary Margaret sighed. "Honey, I'm sure everything is going to work out just fine, and even if it doesn't, you'll be okay. Even though it seems like the most dramatic thing in the world right now, eventually it will all blow over, these things always have a way of working themselves out. Belle sounds like a nice, smart girl. She's obviously very taken with you and I'm sure she doesn't want to ruin whatever is between you any more than you do. In the meantime, just try to carry on as normal. You have friends and other things to keep you occupied. Speaking of, how's the project with Professor Mills coming along?" She asked. Emma sighed, she knew the topic of conversation would come back round to her studies at some point.

"It's going well, mom."

"Is Professor Mills still happy with you?" Emma had to suppress a snort.

"I doubt it." She mumbled under her breath.

"What was that?" Her mom asked.

"I said, I think so."

"Well, I'm glad to hear it. I'm so proud of you, honey." Mary Margaret said warmly. Emma smiled.

"Thanks mom." She said quietly.

"I'm so excited to see you, sweetheart. Counting down the days!"

"Me too mom, only 5 weeks now." Emma smiled.

"Did you ask Professor Mills if she was available for lunch when I visit?"

Emma's stomach dropped at the thought of having lunch with her mother and Professor Mills, especially after their incident last night. But she knew her mother wouldn't leave the subject alone until she'd given her the answer she wanted.

"I'll check with her closer to the time, mom. I'm sure she'll be free at some point."

"Don't leave it too late, honey. I'm sure she's a busy woman."

"Yes, okay, mom. I'll ask her." Emma sighed.

"Okay sweetheart. I have to run, my take out is here."

"Okay, mom. I'll talk to you soon. I love you."

"I love you too, honey. And remember, everything will work out."

"Bye mom."

"Bye sweetheart."

The phone clicked and Emma placed it on her beside table, sighing.

* * *

 **Okay, so, that's chapter 8! Let me know what you guys think! More SQ action to come in the next chapter. Stay tuned!**


	9. Chapter 9: Internal Conflict

**Thank you all so much for the lovely comments you guys left on the last chapter. I'm beyond pleased with the amount of follows/faves and reviews this story has gotten so far, so I just wanted to thank all the readers for reading, and continuing to read! :)**

 **Enjoy Chapter 9 beautiful people!**

* * *

 **7.15pm**

"Hey, Em. We're all thinking about going for a drink, you in?" Mulan asked.

They had just finished their weekly meeting. There was more of an intense work load placed on the four of them now that Robin had been kicked off the project, and everyone was feeling the pressure, especially the seniors, who already had their work cut out for them. Emma couldn't help but feel sorry for them. When Neal asked where Robin was, Professor Mills had told them she had let him go due to his lack of contribution. No one questioned her decision, but Emma could feel the tension, the collective internal groan now that the four of them would have to pick up the slack. Emma had barely acknowledged Regina the entire meeting, only when she was being spoken to, and even then she couldn't look her in the eye. She'd felt Regina glancing at her on a few occasions, but refused to meet her gaze, too humiliated to acknowledge what had happened between them. She hadn't looked at her during their class that morning either, instead keeping her head down, militantly taking notes. When class had ended she'd bolted out of there as fast as possible, and that was exactly what she planned on doing now.

"Yeah sure, let's go." Emma replied, pulling her backpack over her shoulder and rushing out of the room.

"Ms. Swan." Came a voice from behind her, just as she reached the door. Emma froze and turned round slowly. "Could I have a word, please?"

Emma glanced at Mulan, who was looking at her curiously, as if to say _what did you do?_ Emma shrugged and walked towards Regina's desk.

"I'll catch up." She said as she walked past Mulan. Emma reached the Professor's desk, watching as she cleared up her papers from the meeting, she looked up at Emma with a blank expression.

"You may sit, Ms. Swan." She said, gesturing to the chair which Emma stood beside.

"I'd rather stand." She replied. Regina raised an eyebrow and folded her arms, glancing at the door after Mulan pulled it shut. Emma looked her in the eye for the first time and felt her stomach drop and her face flush, humiliation creeping over her. She tried to hold her ground, appear unfazed, but it wasn't working, the butterflies in her stomach were going crazy and her mouth started to dry. She didn't know what Regina was going to say, but honestly, she didn't want to hear it, she just wanted to get out of there.

"Ms. Swan, I wanted to talk to you about the other night." Regina began. Emma could feel the tension between them, even Regina seemed a little awkward, which was totally unlike her, it made Emma feel worse.

"Please, Professor. Can we just forget about it?" Emma pleaded.

"Emma, I think we should-"

"Look, I'd had a little too much to drink, I thought there was… I read the signals wrong." Emma interrupted, shaking her head.

"Emma-"

"I'm sorry, Professor. I know I over stepped. Please can we just forget-"

"Emma Swan, if you interrupt me one more time." Regina snapped. Emma paused, opening her mouth to say something but quickly shutting it again. Regina sighed.

"You didn't. I didn't." She sighed again. "You aren't entirely to blame for what happened." She resigned. Emma stared at her, her eyebrows furrowed.

"But I-" She began. Regina gave her a pointed look and she quickly shut up. After a moment her face relaxed and she took a step towards Emma, her arms still folded.

"Emma. You and I. Well… I'm very fond of you." Regina smiled, Emma gave a shy smile back. "You're a wonderful student, a smart, beautiful girl. Our relationship has extended further than I have ever let it with any other student. Which is fine, it's been very nice, actually. But I've found myself. I shouldn't have. But I have been. You have this way of being. And I've been." She paused, sighing and running a hand through her hair. "I've been flirting with you. When I shouldn't have. And I fear that may have led you on in some way, which led to Friday nights…"

"I get it, Regina. You don't have to explain." Emma said, trying to sound understanding, like it didn't matter. But really she felt sick.

"I'm sorry, Emma. I had to say something before things got out of hand. We have a… friendship, and I'm happy for us to remain friendly, but it has to be strictly professional from here on out. I'm your professor and you're my student. That's it." Emma looked down at the floor and closed her eyes. Regina's words stung. She thought that there was something more between them, but obviously she had been wrong.

"I understand, Professor. I won't let anything like last night happen again. I'll keep things… Appropriate." She said, the word 'appropriate' coming out a little more bitterly than she had intended. Regina looked sadly at Emma, she wanted to reach out and touch her, comfort her in some way, but she had drawn the line now, and she had to remain behind it.

"You may go, Ms. Swan." She resigned. Emma didn't look at her again, instead she turned round and strode out of the room confidently, though she felt her walls may crumble at any moment. The door clicked behind her and she sighed.

"What was that about?" Mulan asked. Emma jumped. She hadn't noticed the brunette standing there. She put on a brave face and turned to her friend.

"She just wanted to ask about the book she gave me." Emma answered with a small smile.

"Oh. Fair enough." Mulan shrugged, grabbing Emma's hand. "Come on, I need a drink." She grinned.

 **8.00pm**

"I can't fucking believe that she dumped Robin at this point in the project. I mean, sure he's an asshole, but now there's four of us doing the work of 5 people. God, she's the worst." August complained. They were on their second round in an old, run down bar, that was close to the university. The tension from their earlier meeting dissipated with each sip of their drinks. It was nice to be around them in a relaxed, social context, Emma thought. They were all pretty cool. She was trying her best to engage in friendly conversation, but she wasn't feeling like her usual self. Her earlier encounter with Regina playing over and over again in her head.

"I know. Does she have any idea how much work we have to do already? I mean seriously, it's like she wants to torture us." Mulan whined. Emma nodded in agreement.

"Why are you nodding, freshman? The Evil Queen basically loves you, and it's not like you have the rest of your life depending on how well you do in the next few months." Neal grumbled.

"He's right, Em. Mills has a soft spot for you." August winked. Emma grimaced.

"Yeah, right." She muttered, sipping on her bourbon.

"Well, she is smarter than all of us." Mulan offered.

"Speak for yourself." August scoffed.

"Come on, don't you think she deserves a little praise? She's taking on most of the extra work and she's been doing most of the work, anyway." Mulan nudged Emma's shoulder. Emma glanced up at her friend and smiled, grateful for her kind words.

"Well, like Nealy boy said. She's a freshman. And besides, It's alright for you, Mulan. You guys always work together, so you get to take some of the credit. What about the rest of us?" He whined.

"I guess you'll just have to step up your game, Booth." Emma fired back.

"I'd rather coast by on my good looks and boyish charm." He grinned.

"Lucky for me, I've got good looks, genius and a dazzling personality to see me through." Emma grinned, attempting a bit of banter. August smiled challengingly.

"I think Swan over here is getting a little too big for her boots. I assume you wear boots, right? Being a lesbian and all." He grinned. Mulan and Neal laughed loudly. Emma punched him on the arm.

"Ow!" He cried. "Okay, okay, sorry." He said defensively. "So, does anyone actually buy that bullshit about Hood being kicked off for 'lack of contribution." He continued, using air quotes. "I mean he was certainly no Swan." Emma glared at him. "But he wasn't completely useless." He finished. Everyone nodded in agreement and began throwing in their two cents. Emma bit her lip, trying to decide whether or not to tell them the real reason why he had been kicked off the project. She wasn't sure if Regina wanted them to know. But why should she care what Regina wants? She thought bitterly.

"That isn't the real reason he was kicked off." She blurted. Everyone turned to look at her expectantly.

"How do you know?" Mulan asked curiously. Emma stared into her drink, taking a large gulp before continuing.

"He was being a dick to me at the gala. I fired back, he got aggressive. Regina saw, told him to get lost and that he was kicked off the project." She shrugged. Everyone was staring at her with wide eyes.

"Dude, full story." August demanded. Emma sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"I was in the hallway, the one with the portraits?" Everyone nodded, all four pairs of eyes boring into her. "He saw me alone and came over. He was drunk and started hurling insults at me, which, whatever, I can handle insults from a drunken asshole. But then he made a crude comment about my friend and I got pissed. Then, somehow we got onto the topic of his girlfriend-"

"Aurora?" Neal asked.

"Yeah."

"That chick is a bitch." He grumbled.

"Yep." Emma nodded. "Anyway, I know her, kind of. She's… She's hit on me before." Everyone's eyes widened. "So… I may have insinuated to Robin that his girlfriend is gay, and he did not like that at all. He called me a dyke and reached out to grab me, but Regina saw and stopped him before he could. She… Yeah…." Emma trailed off. She hadn't thought about what might have happened if Regina hadn't been there. She shivered at the thought.

"Wow." August breathed. Everyone sat back in their seats. "That's awesome." He grinned. Emma raised an eyebrow. "I don't know what the best part of that story is, that Regina saved your ass or that Robin's girlfriend is a lesbian." Everyone laughed, including Emma.

"Maybe the Evil Queen isn't so evil after all. We might have to change her nickname to 'knight in shining armour." August joked. Emma smiled, remembering the similar comment she'd made to Regina. "And with that, I think we need another round." August said, getting up.

"I'll come with." Mulan offered. The two of them wandered over to the bar, leaving Emma and Neal.

"So." She began. "You and Ruby." She grinned. Neal looked at her sheepishly.

"What about me and Ruby?" He asked embarrassedly.

"From what I hear Professor Mills isn't the only knight in shining armour around here." She mocked.

"Oh, god. Don't." He groaned. "I only did what I thought…." He trailed off. "She hasn't called me." He finished, sadly.

"She will." Emma stated. Neal looked at her hopefully.

"How do you know?"

"Because she needs a guy like you in her life."

"She was cool." He smiled. "A little forward, but I'm guessing that was the alcohol."

"Oh no, she's like that when she's sober too." Emma laughed.

"Oh." Neal said disappointedly.

"But, that's not all she has to offer. Once you get to know her, start breaking through the exterior, you'll see she's worth the effort." Emma smiled. Neal smiled back.

"Should I call her?" He asked.

"You don't have to, trust me, she'll call." Emma replied. At that exact moment Neal's phone started to vibrate on the table, an unrecognised number flashing. The two of them looked at each other as if to say 'could it be?'

"I think that might be her." He said, slightly bewildered.

"Go get her, tiger." Emma joked.

"Hello?" He answered, holding the phone to his ear. "Ruby, hi." He grinned, looking at Emma, who gave him a thumbs up for encouragement. He slid out of his seat and wandered over to the exit. Emma watched him with a smile.

"Where's he going?" August asked, staring after him, placing their drinks on the table.

"Important phone call." Emma responded, wiggling her eyebrows.

"Does this have something to do with that hot girl he met at the gala?" He asked.

"Maybe." Emma grinned.

"Ooh, girl. You better start dishing." August replied in a camp voice, his chin resting on his knuckles. Emma laughed.

 **10pm**

"One. Two. Three. DRINK." The three of them cried, knocking back another shot of tequila. Neal had left after his phone call with Ruby. Apparently she had asked him out for a late night coffee, which he had been all too eager to accept.

"Oh, god." Mulan groaned, wiping at her chin. "I don't know how many more I can handle."

"Come on, Fa. Freshman over here is wiping the floor with us." August slurred.

"Guess that's something else to add to the list of things I'm better at than you." She mocked.

"You know, if you weren't a lesbian, I think I'd be in love with you." He replied.

"I think you're a little bit in love with me anyway." She whispered. August gave her a wolfish grin and grabbed her wrist.

"Come on, let's dance." He said, dragging her towards the small, sticky, beer-coated area that was apparently meant to be the dance floor, but contained only a few drunken middle aged men and women swinging their beers around.

"Oh no, no, no. I don't dance." Emma retorted, pulling her wrist free.

"Come on, just for one song?" He pouted, batting his eyelashes.

"Absolutely not." Emma stated, folding her arms.

"Fine. Come on, Fa. Your two left feet will have to do." He resigned.

"Hey!" She cried. But it was too late, he had already dragged her halfway to the dance floor. Emma watched them, laughing at August's drunken dad dancing versus Mulan's awkward feet shuffling. She wandered back over to the bar and ordered herself a bourbon on the rocks. She had a good buzz going, not too drunk but definitely not sober. She cast a quick glance around the bar and noticed a pretty blonde smiling at her from the other side of the room, Emma smiled back. Their gazes held for a moment, then the other woman looked down, stirring the cocktail stick round her martini glass. Feeling confident, Emma picked up her drink and walked over to the woman. She was older, in her mid thirties Emma would say, not that she minded, she had always had a thing for older women.

"Hi." Emma smiled. The other woman looked up and gave her a shy smile in return.

"Hi." She replied.

"Is this seat taken?" Emma asked, gesturing to the seat beside her.

"My friends in the bathroom." She replied.

"Oh. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude." Emma said politely.

"No, not at all. Please, join us." She said quickly. Emma smiled and grabbed a stool from the table next to the blondes, pulling up beside her.

"So, what's a pretty girl like you doing in a place like this?" Emma asked flirtatiously, taking a sip of her bourbon. The other woman laughed, blushing slightly.

"My friend's had a rough couple of days so I agreed to meet her for a few drinks." She answered.

"So you're her shoulder to cry on?" Emma mused.

"She's not exactly the crying type." The blonde explained.

"Her shoulder to get drunk on, then?"

"Something like that." She smiled, their gazes held for a moment.

"Emma?" A voice sounded, both women looked up. Emma's face, along with her stomach, dropped.

"Regina?" She spluttered, stunned, gaping at the brunette.

"Emma?" The blonde added with a hint of realisation, staring at Regina, who gave her a pointed look.

"What are you doing here?" Regina asked, staring at Emma.

"I. I came over to talk to…" She stammered, glancing at the blonde.

"Katherine." The other woman finished for her.

"Katherine." Emma breathed, her face flushing. Regina raised an eyebrow.

"I see." She stated, her eyes boring into Emma, who wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole. She picked up her drink and stood quickly, the room spinning a little as she did so. She placed a hand on the table to steady herself.

"I'm sorry I didn't realise she was your… Sorry. Excuse me" Emma muttered awkwardly, brushing past Regina and making a swift exit. Regina stared after her, sinking back down onto her stool and sighing. Of course Emma was here, Emma seemed to be everywhere at the moment. In her classes, her office, not to mention her head. She had wormed her way into her conscience, and it seemed there was no escape from the beautiful blonde. Regina had noted her body language when she'd walked over to the table, she had been hitting on her friend, that much was obvious. She couldn't help the jealousy that stirred inside her.

"That's Emma?" Katherine asked, slightly bewildered. "No wonder you-" Regina glared at the blonde, halting her mid sentence.

"Why was she taking to you?" She questioned.

"I. I don't know. She just walked over and started a conversation." Katherine answered defensively. Regina sighed again.

"I'm sorry. She just…" She trailed off, staring into the crowd.

"Wow, she's really under your skin, huh?" Katherine asked. Regina rubbed her temples and grabbed her red wine, knocking back half the glass in a few seconds.

"I don't know what to do, Katherine. I've never been in this situation before." She resigned, casting a glance at her friend. Katherine stared at her for a moment.

"I think you should go for it." Katherine stated plainly.

"What?" Regina spluttered. That wasn't the answer she was expecting.

"Regina. You have the highest standards of anyone I know, you're picky, rude, you never like any of the guys I set you up with."

"Dr. Whale?" Regina questioned warningly.

"Okay, so maybe that was bad judgement on my part." Katherine resigned. "But Emma is the first person in years, hell the first person I've _ever_ seen you like this over." She cried. Regina stared into her drink.

"She's my student, Katherine." She responded defeatedly.

"I thought you said professors are allowed to have relationships with students at CAU?"

"No I never said that. I said there's no specific rule against it, but it's still frowned upon. I could lose my job if it goes wrong."

"How could it go wrong?" Katherine asked. Regina gave her a look that said _seriously?_

"Well, for one if it ends badly she could sue me for sexual harassment. I wouldn't just lose my job, but my reputation, my integrity, my dignity…"

"Do you really think she would do that?"

"I don't know Katherine, I don't know her well enough to make that kind of judgement call. And secondly, it could look like I'm giving her special treatment. If the other students found out that we were, hypothetically, together, they might assume that she's getting good grades because of the fact, and complain to the dean."

"Didn't you say she's really smart?"

"Yes, but-"

"Do the other students in your class know she's smart?"

"Yes, but-"

"Well, there you go. How can your other students say that you're boosting her grades when they already know how smart she is?" Katherine stated adamantly. Regina huffed.

"Because students are petty, Katherine, and when they don't get good grades they look for something, anything else to blame but themselves. If I take things further with Emma, I'm just handing them that excuse on a platter."

"Regina, you worry way too much about consequences. Don't you ever do anything impulsive? Just go for something and say 'fuck it' whatever happens, happens?"

"No." Regina said bluntly.

"Well, you should." Katherine cried. "You _like her_. You should go for it, do something you're not supposed to, for once." She stated. "Plus she's _hot."_ She grinned. Regina raised an eyebrow. "What!? I'm-

"Straight." Regina answered for her.

"What? And you're not?" Katherine scoffed.

"I'm… conflicted." Regina shrugged.

"Oh, is that what the kids are calling it these days?" She mocked. Regina let out a throaty laugh.

"Seriously, Regina. I know it isn't the most ideal situation, but if it was me, I would forget about the other stuff and do what made me happy. If you think she could make you happy, go for it. Even if it doesn't work out, even if you have one night of amazing, mind-blowing sex, wake up the next morning and realise you've made a mistake, even if it blows up in your face, at least you would walk away knowing you tried, you allowed yourself to make that mistake. Are your morals really more important than a chance at happiness?" She asked. Regina pondered for a moment. Maybe her friend was right.

 **10.15pm**

"Hey guys, I'm gonna head home." Emma shouted to August and Mulan over the bass heavy music. The pair of them stopped dancing and turned to face her, frowning.

"What! Why?" Mulan shouted.

"I don't feel so great." Emma shouted back. August pulled the pair of them off the dance floor so they could hear each other.

"Do you need us to take you home?" He asked, seeming concerned.

"No, I'm fine. I just feel a little sick." Emma admitted. Though the cause of her sudden sickness was certainly not brought on by alcohol.

"Come on, we'll go back with you." August offered.

"Guys, seriously. I'm fine. Stay here, have fun." Emma pleaded.

"No way, I'm not leaving you to go home by yourself if you're not feeling good." August replied. Emma couldn't help but smile a little, it was nice knowing they cared about her.

"Okay." She resigned. "I just need to get my jacket."

Emma wandered over to their seats from earlier and grabbed her black leather jacket, which was still lying in the corner of the booth. She pulled it on, turning round and coming face to face with Regina. Emma stared at her, she was still wearing the pencil skirt and white blouse she had on at the meeting earlier. She stuck out like a sore thumb in the dirty old bar they were in, but to Emma, she was the most beautiful woman in the room, in any room for that matter. Emma felt the butterflies dancing in her stomach, as they always did when she got a look at those dark chocolate eyes and full, crimson lips. Emma wanted to walk away, to not care about what Regina wanted, but her feet felt as though they were glued to the floor. So she just stared at the beautiful brunette, waiting for her to make the first move. She looked apprehensive as she took a step towards Emma.

"Emma, I..." She began, pausing.

"Look, if this is about your friend. I didn't know you were here with her. I wouldn't have spoken to her if I did." Emma explained.

"It's not that, it's… I'm sorry. About earlier. I didn't mean to upset you." Regina resigned.

Emma felt undeniably irritated, why couldn't she control her emotions around the Professor? It was making her crazy. She didn't want to feel like this, and she certainly didn't want Regina to think that she'd upset her, so she just stared at the brunette with an unreadable expression. When she spoke, she spoke calmly, without bitterness, as though the Professor had no effect on her whatsoever.

"Regina. You don't need to apologise and you don't owe me an explanation. You're my Professor, and I'm your student, like you said, nothing more. You made yourself perfectly clear." Emma stated, starting to move past the brunette.

Regina reached for her arm, grabbing it lightly. Emma's head whipped round, their faces mere inches apart. Regina stared at Emma, her expression a mixture of apprehension and longing, her dark eyes wandered down to Emma's lips, then back up again. They stayed like that for several moments, their gazes locked onto each other's, the tension between them building until it was unbearable, and then Regina slowly released her grip on Emma's arm. Emma stared at her blankly for another moment before walking away. Regina watched as she wandered across the bar and out the door. She looked down at the floor, silently cursing herself, fearing that she had pushed Emma away completely. It was unlikely that they would be able to retain the relationship they had built, now that all this had happened, which pained her, as she felt such a strong connection to the blonde. She had wanted so desperately to kiss her in that moment, but something was holding her back. She was scared, scared of letting someone in, letting them get too close. She rarely ever revealed her true self to people, she was untrusting and unwilling open up. But Emma, Emma had managed to break through those walls quicker than Regina could ever have imagined. She never spoke about her past to anyone, but somehow, with Emma, the words had just flown out of her mouth. She was even hesitant to talk freely with Katherine at times, Katherine who was her closest friend. She had certainly never cried in front of Katherine, but with Emma, she had, in _public_. But she didn't make her feel ashamed or embarrassed, only accepted. It was so strange, she barely even knew the girl, but for some reason felt completely at ease around her. Her attraction to the blonde only amplified her feelings tenfold. And though being around her felt right, there were so many reasons why it was wrong. She was her student, for one. She had frowned upon so many of her colleagues in the past for engaging in illicit activities with students, and now she found herself wanting to be one of them. Secondly, she was over 10 years her senior, and thirdly, Emma was a _girl._ Regina had never even thought about another woman that way, and now she thought about nothing else. Regina struggled to get a grip on her feelings, her head spinning. She sat down and rubbed her temples. Whatever this was between her and Emma, it wasn't simple and it wasn't going away any time soon. She couldn't ignore her feelings any more than she could ignore the overwhelming urge to act upon them, which she felt was somewhat inevitable if they continued on they way they had been. She didn't want to lose the relationship they had, the easiness of their conversations, the banter… the flirting. But to push forward, meant to fall deeper into Emma, and she didn't know if she could let than happen.

"Fuck." She muttered under hear breath, downing the rest of her wine and heading back over to Katherine. She had to get out of there.

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 **Thoughts?**


	10. Chapter 10: No Going Back

**HELLO ALL MY BEAUTIFUL READERS!**

 **Firstly, let me apologize for how long it's been since my last update. Life has been completely bloody mental these last few months and unfortunately I've had 0 time to write. Unfortunately, I've got a lot of stuff on my plate atm so updates may be few and far between, and this will probably be the last update for a little while, but I want to keep writing this fic until I feel it's finished, and I'm not abandoning it! Please stick with me and I promise I'll try my hardest to squeeze in some writing time whenever I can, so I can give you lovely people SQ goodness!**

* * *

 **7pm**

"I know this is probably the last thing you want to hear right now, but they've brought the book deadline forward" Regina stated. The four of them groaned loudly.

"Seriously?" August whined. Regina shot him a death stare and he quickly averted his gaze down to his shoes.

"I'm sorry that this doesn't fit in with your busy schedules, but there's nothing I can do about it. And may I remind you that this is what you signed up for." Regina snapped. Emma stared up at her, she looked tired, irritated. Emma felt a pang of sympathy towards the brunette, she was obviously incredibly stressed and seriously lacking sleep.

"I need you all to be on call. Whenever I need you, you come. Late nights, early mornings, we keep working until this book is finished. Am I making myself clear?" She asked, glancing around the room, daring anyone to question her. The four of them nodded solemnly.

"Good." She continued. "Let's begin."

They were there until 11pm, talking, discussing, frantically working to try and get the book together. Regina looked more and more tired as their meeting went on. Emma stole glances at her every so often. They hadn't spoken since their encounter at the bar, and Emma was happy to keep it that way. Or was she? Though she was still bitter over Regina's rejection, she was finding it difficult to resist the feeling of wanting to comfort the Professor, make sure she was okay. She felt stuck between a rock and a hard place, she didn't want to overstep now that Regina had made her intentions clear, but at the same time she cared deeply for the brunette, and though she was still humiliated over all that had happened between them, she still wanted to reach out to her, be there for her. They had built a friendship, after all, and Regina herself had said that she was glad of the fact. Her mind wandered back to their last encounter at the bar. Regina had looked like she had wanted to say something in that brief moment they shared before Emma left. She looked like she wanted to say something on more than one occasion, but was holding back. Emma sighed, pondering over how this situation was going to play out. Could things go back to the way they were after all that had happened? Somehow Emma doubted it. Though she didn't want their relationship to take a step back, she didn't see how they could push forward. It felt like they were sidestepping around the inevitable conclusion; that they wanted each other. That was what Emma kept coming back to. She could feel it, even if the Professor denied it. She felt it in every look, every word. But no matter how much she felt it, she couldn't ignore their conversation. Regina had told her that they needed to keep things between them professional, and no matter how much Emma doubted that was what she really wanted, she had to respect her decision.

 **11pm**

"Okay, I think I've kept you all long enough. You may go." Regina resigned, sitting at her desk. She removed her glasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose. August, Neal and Mulan gathered up their things and began to shuffle out of the office, yawning as they went. Mulan turned back to look at Emma, who was still sat going over some papers.

"You coming?" She asked.

"In a sec, go on without me."

"Okay." Mulan shrugged. Emma looked over at Regina, who's head was in her hands, unaware of Emma's presence, she let out a long sigh. Emma stepped towards her desk.

"Professor?" Emma called. Regina's head shot up. "Are you okay?" Emma asked hesitantly. Regina stared at her for a moment.

"Not really, Ms Swan." She admitted.

"I… Is there anything I can do?" Emma offered. Regina glanced up at her with a small smile.

"A spa day would be nice." She joked.

"I've been told I'm pretty good at giving massages." She replied with a grin. The professor frowned at her.

"That was a joke." The professor's face softened.

"It seems I've lost my sense of humour." Regina smiled sadly.

"That's alright, you didn't have much of one to begin with." Emma joked, attempting to cheer the older woman up. Regina cocked an eyebrow at the blonde, her lips tugging upwards into their usual smirk.

"I wouldn't push me right now, Ms. Swan. One false move and you might end up like Mr. Hood." Regina warned, but she did so in a way that told Emma she was't being serious.

"I think you need me a little bit more than I need you, right now." Emma quirked. Regina snorted.

"I can't argue with that." She resigned. Emma paused to stare at Regina for a moment.

"We've got this, okay?" She said calmly. Regina looked up at her hesitantly.

"I'm not so sure." She said sadly.

"Regina." Emma started, sitting opposite the Professor. "You are easily the strongest, smartest, most scarily determined person I've ever met. I have no doubt that you're going to get this book finished and that it's going to be awesome. Please trust me when I say that it's going to be fine, because it's going to be fine." She said adamantly. Regina smiled. "Besides, I've totally got your back. You need anything, just call me, and I'll be there. No matter what." Emma smiled. Regina looked at her with genuine warmth and gratitude. Emma felt her knees go weak at the sight of the brunette's chocolate gaze melting into her.

"Thank you, Emma." She said quietly.

"No problem." She nodded. "But, right now I think you need some sleep, and I definitely need some sleep. So please, just leave it for tonight and go home?" Emma asked, though it sounded more like she was telling.

"You're right, I do desperately need to sleep." She resigned, gathering up her things and putting them in her briefcase. She paused for a moment to glance up at Emma.

"Thank you, Emma. For somehow always making me feel better." She smiled gratefully.

"Any time." Emma smiled back, before grabbing her backpack and heading for the door. "Goodnight, Regina." She called over her shoulder.

"Goodnight, Emma." Regina responded, watching her walk out the door. _God dammit._ She thought. _This is not going to be easy._

 **5.45pm**

 _Knock. Knock. Knock._ Emma glanced at the door from her desk, she really didn't have time for visitors, she was so swamped with work. She sighed. Closing the lid of her laptop she got up and opened the door.

"Dude, what the hell?" Came the voice of an irritated looking Ruby.

"What?" Emma asked confusedly.

"You were supposed to meet me in the library 45 minutes ago." She replied, folding her arms.

"Oh, shit." Emma groaned. She had completely forgotten about their tutoring session. "I'm so sorry Ruby, I totally spaced."

"You haven't called or texted since Saturday. You didn't even ask how my date with Neal went!" She cried, barging past Emma into her room and flopping on the bed.

"I know, I'm sorry Rubes. I've just had a lot going on. The book deadline has been moved forward so I'm working my ass off day and night for Professor Mills." Emma explained. "I haven't had time to stop and think about anything. I've barely had a moment to myself. Please don't be mad." Emma pouted. Ruby huffed and unfolded her arms.

"Fine, I guess you're forgiven." She resigned. "But haven't you ever heard the expression bros before hoes?"

"I hardly think that applies in this situation, Rubes."

"It does when you're ditching me for the hot professor."

"Well, the hot professor has made it abundantly clear that she wants to keep things between us professional, so…"

"Dude, what happened?" Ruby sat up, suddenly all ears. Emma sighed and ran a hand through her hair.

"Not much. She asked me to stay behind after our Monday meeting and told me that while she values our friendship we have to keep things strictly professional from here on out."

"Oh, come on. You didn't seriously buy that, did you?" Ruby scoffed.

"What do you mean?"

"She's scared, Em. She only said all of that because she's scared of what might happen if you two fuck, not because she doesn't want to fuck you. Wow, you know, you are terrible at reading people's feelings."

"Well, I mean, Jesus. Why can't people just be upfront about how they feel? I'm not a god damn mind reader!" Emma cried.

"Because that's not the way it works in girl world. Seriously, Em. It's like talking to a guy with you sometimes."

"Whatever. But Rubes, you know this isn't just about sex, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, this isn't just about me wanting to have sex with Regina."

"Well, then what is it about?" Ruby asked. Emma paused. She hadn't really thought about it. She knew whatever this thing was between her and Regina, it wasn't just about sex. It was more than that. "Oh my god. You are totally into her aren't you? You like her. Like seriously like her." Ruby said, bewildered.

"I. Well. I mean. I want her. But not just that part of her. I want _her._ All of her." Emma stumbled, trying to make coherent sense of her feelings. Ruby's mouth fell open.

"Holy shit. I thought this was just about sex but now I see it. You want a relationship with Professor Mills. Like an actual, real, adult, consensual, mutual relationship."

"No I don't... I don't know... Is that bad?" Emma asked.

"It makes this way more complicated! I can't believe I didn't pick up on this." Ruby exclaimed, shaking her head.

"Ruby, I know you think you're good at this stuff, but you're not Derren Brown."

"The crazy thing is, I think this might be about more than just sex for her too." Ruby continued, ignoring Emma's comment.

"What do you mean?" Emma asked, intrigued.

"Well, I thought she turned you down because she's worried about a sexual harassment lawsuit. But I think it's about way more than that. She turned you down because she feels the same way and it scares her. I mean, having sex with a student is one thing, but having feelings that could lead to a full blown relationship? That's a whole new ball game." Ruby explained, bewildered by the thought of her discovery.

"I don't know... She seemed pretty adamant that this was never going to happen so... You really think she's into me?" Emma asked, skeptically.

"Well I've never seen you two together, so I can't know for sure. But from what you've told me, and from the way I see her looking at you in class sometimes, that is my professional opinion."

"She looks at me in class?" Emma asked, disbelievingly.

"She's super subtle about it, it's only because I'm never paying attention to the work that I've noticed it before. But she cares about you, Emma. I can tell."

"Jesus, Ruby this is all way too fucking complicated. I can't deal with all these emotions and the feelings and the not knowing for sure but feeling like I know. Christ. Forget it. Go on, tell me about your date with Neal."

"Oh, no no. Believe me we will get on to that, but I'm not done with you yet. You have some serious explaining to do."

"'I've already explained everything I possibly could?"

"Not about Professor Mills. Belle?" She questioned.

"Oh, Ruby I really don't want to talk about that right now."

"Not an option. You seriously had sex with her?"

"It's complicated."

"Sounds pretty straightforward to me. You either did or you didn't." Emma glared at Ruby.

"It's not as simple as that, it's… I don't even know what it is. It's a fucking mess."

"Yeah, I got that part."

"She told me she doesn't want to be around me any more."

"Won't that be kind of difficult when she lives across the hall?"

"Don't be an asshole Ruby, you know what I mean." Emma snapped.

"Okay, jeez. I was only trying to lighten the mood." Ruby replied defensively.

"Sorry, I just. Everything is just a total fucking disaster at the moment. My school work, everything with Regina, and now Belle. I keep getting myself into these shitty situations that I have no idea how to get out of." She sighed. Ruby scooted closer and wrapped a protective arm around Emma.

"Look, I know things seem shitty right now, but it won't last forever. Soon the book will be done and I'm sure you'll sort things out with Belle. That girl is way too in love with you to let you go."

"She's not in love with me." Emma grumbled.

"Are you serious? You can't honestly be that blind."

"She is not in love with me." Emma repeated.

"Emma. She is completely and utterly in love with you. I knew it ever since that party when you guys kissed. I saw it on her face the other day in your room. Why do you think she's reacted the way she has? Why do you think she's continuing that sham of a relationship with Nolan? Because she's in love with you and she knows she can't have you, so she's trying to put up a wall between you, distance herself from you. She thinks by ignoring you exist, and trying to move on with someone else, the feelings will go away." Ruby explained. Emma stared at her open mouthed.

"Oh Jesus Christ, what have I done?" Emma groaned, her head falling into her hands.

"Well, you probably shouldn't have slept with her." Ruby offered.

"Thanks, Ruby." Emma said, her voice muffled by her hands.

"Any time." Ruby replied, rubbing Emma's back.

"Seriously, what do I do?"

"There's not a lot you can do. If you try to force your way into her life it's only going to make things worse. She needs time to get over you. You need to give her space. If you really care for her, that's all you can do."

"But what if she ends up resenting me? I can't deal with that Ruby, she's my best friend."

"Emma, as much as it sucks to hear, you've made your bed. Now you have to suck it up and deal with the consequences. Do I think she'll get over it? Yeah, I honestly do. But I also know that these things take time. You just have to be patient. Wait for her to make the first move. And she will, eventually."

"Okay. Yeah, I guess you're right. I know you're right. Thank you, for helping me to sort out my messed up head. I'm really lucky to have you as a friend, Rubes." Emma smiled, Ruby smiled back.

"Yeah, you are. Anyway, on to me."

 **7pm**

"Okay, I'm here, I've brought coffee, let's do this." Emma stated as she strode into Regina's office. The Professor had emailed her that morning asking if she could help her with an evening cram session. They were all working tirelessly around the clock to get the book together, and tonight was no exception. Mulan, August and Neal all had big exams to study for, so tonight it was just Emma and Regina. Both women were rather nervous about being alone together, but they had so much work to do that the underlying tension between them had barely been acknowledged over the past week. They were both pushing it to the back of their minds and focusing all their energy on the work.

"Amazing. Thank you." Regina smiled, reaching out for the cardboard coffee cup. The two women sipped their coffee and peered at each other. Emma bit her lip nervously and cleared her throat.

"So, what do you want me to do today?" She asked. Regina walked over to her desk, talking as she went.

"Okay, so I want to start arranging the chapters. I've printed out a bunch of chapter headings, and the sections of the book that we've written so far. Could you lay them all out on the floor and start organising them? Just so I have a clear idea of what's going where and if it all fits."

"Not a problem. I was really good at puzzles when I was a kid, so this should be super easy." Emma grinned, taking the papers from Regina and settling herself onto the floor.

"Glad to hear it, Ms. Swan." Regina smiled.

 **10pm**

Regina watched as Emma arranged the papers into their subsequent sections, her brow furrowed in concentration. One half of her blonde hair was tucked behind her ear and the other half fell over the left side of her face, hiding her exquisite green eyes from view. Regina's eyes trailed down Emma's body. Sitting at her desk Regina could see down Emma's blouse, the first few buttons were undone. As Emma leaned over the papers, Regina's eyes fixed on the lacy black bra she was wearing. She began absentmindedly trailing her fingertips across her chest, imagining what Emma looked like in black lingerie. She bit her lip at the thought.

"Ugh I need a drink." Emma said suddenly, pulling Regina out of her daydream. The professor shook her head and blinked. Emma stretched out her arms and glanced up at the Professor, who looked slightly flustered.

"You okay, Professor?" She asked.

"Yes I'm fine, just tired." She managed, silently berating herself for having such inappropriate thoughts about the female student sat two feet away from her.

"Please tell me you have some alcohol hidden in a drawer somewhere?" Emma groaned.

"Ms. Swan. I am not a bartender and you are a) Underage and b) My student. I cannot give you alcohol." Regina stated.

"Oh come on, Regina. Don't you ever do anything you're not supposed to?" Emma smiled with a raised brow. Regina stared at her for a moment, aware of the meaning behind her words. She sighed and opened the bottom drawer of her desk, pulling out a bottle of apple cider and two glasses. Emma's eyes lit up and she sprung up to sit opposite the Professor.

"I knew you had a rebellious side." She grinned. Regina offered her a bemused smile, pouring a glass for each of them. She went to hand Emma her glass and paused.

"This stays between us."

"I'll add it to our long list of secrets." Emma winked, reaching for the glass. She took a long sip, the alcohol immediately warming her stomach. She smiled and leant back in her chair.

"Damn. This is good." She said, staring at her glass. "When I was in London, I drank a ridiculous amount of cider, but this might actually be the best I've ever had."

"I make it myself." Regina smiled, putting the bottle back in the drawer.

"Seriously?" Emma asked incredulously.

"From the apple tree in my back yard."

"Is there anything you can't do?" Emma replied with a small smile.

"Finish this book, apparently." Regina sighed.

"You will. I have no doubt. Alcohol helps." She grinned, taking another sip.

"I bet you took advantage of the lower legal drinking age in London." Regina smirked.

"I certainly had a lot of fun. Probably a little too much fun." Emma grinned

"And now you're stuck here with me. I bet you wish you were back in London right now."

"Not really." Emma smiled coyly. The two women stared at each other for a moment. The feelings both of them were trying to push down began to rise to the surface. Regina stood up suddenly.

"Could you show me what you've done so far?" Regina asked, walking over to the papers on the floor and kneeling down.

"Oh, yeah. Sure." Emma said, downing the rest of her glass and placing it on Regina's desk before she stood up and followed her. She kneeled down beside the brunette and began pointing out different sections and explaining why she'd placed them where she had. Regina was trying her hardest to focus on what the blonde was saying, but her eyes kept glancing up at Emma's face, watching her as she spoke, her strong jawline accentuated with each word. A lock of hair fell forward from behind her ear. Regina had to resist the urge to reach out and tuck it back, she could feel her fingers twitching.

"Do you agree?" Emma asked, looking up at Regina, pulling her out of her daydream.

"Hm?"

"The influence Da Vinci had on the Costa exhibit at the MoMa? I think that should go in abstract section, to fill it out a little more. Do you agree?" Emma repeated, looking at Regina expectantly.

"Oh, uh. Yes. I think that's a good idea." Regina agreed.

"Are you okay, Regina? You seem a little distracted."

"Sorry, I think I'm just a little tired." Regina answered, trying to snap herself out of it.

"Shall we call it a night? I can come back tomorrow after class and we can go over it all together?" Emma offered. Regina ran a hand through her hair, she was asking a lot of the blonde, she knew she had work from other classes to get done. But she wanted to see Emma again, to spend time with her. She felt better knowing she was there, calmer somehow.

"I feel terrible asking, I know you have work from other classes to do." Regina sighed.

"I'll manage." Emma smiled, shrugging slightly. Regina smiled back.

"You have no idea how grateful I am for all your help, truly Emma. I don't know how I will ever be able to make it up to you." She said sincerely.

"I'm sure I'll think of something." Emma replied, her tone insinuating, a playful smile crossing her pink lips. Regina stared into the enchanting sea green of Emma's eyes, the warmth of their colour drawing her in deeper until she felt like she was drowning, the surface fading into the distance as she was pulled deeper and deeper. Her eyes widened and her pupils dilated slightly as Emma realised what Regina wanted, what Regina craved so undeniably in this moment and in moments before, and what Emma was helpless to resist. There was nothing now to stop Regina from inching forward, no worry of being caught, no bar full of people, there was only her and Emma, which both terrified and thrilled her at the same time. She watched as green eyes searched her face for any indication that this wasn't what she wanted, waiting for even the slightest hesitation, but in this moment, there was nothing but the wanton anticipation of what was to happen next. Regina drank in blonde hair, wide green eyes and soft pink lips as Emma's eyes trailed over soft brunette tresses, dark chocolate eyes and full crimson lips. Emma inched her face forward, the gap between them growing ever smaller until Regina could feel Emma's warm breath on her lips, the lips she wanted to desperately to feel against hers. Her breaths grew shallower as her eyes flickered from Emma's mouth to her eyes and back down again, the butterflies in her stomach danced wildly as the last few inches between them disappeared. And then it happened. Their lips brushed softly, tentatively, unsure of themselves. Regina felt a hunger deep in her belly and pressed forward, capturing Emma's lips with her own, as a hand reached up her cheek. Emma allowed her lips to melt into Regina's as her hand found it's way into Regina's soft hair, pulling gently. Regina moaned into Emma's mouth, the sound causing a rush of heat to flood to Emma's core. Her tongue swiped along Regina's bottom lip, seeking entrance, which the brunette quickly granted, their tongues swirled together and the kiss grew more heated. Regina's fingers found themselves intwined in Emma's long blonde curls, puling a few locks towards her, trying to draw Emma even closer. Emma moaned at the feeling of Regina's fingers pulling at her hair, as her own hands wandered down Regina's back, and under her blouse, drawing circles on her smooth skin. Regina's breath hitched at the contact, her fingers tightening in Emma's hair, causing another moan to erupt at her throat. Regina's thighs clenched at the sound, heat and electricity coursing through her at every touch of Emma's fingertips. A kiss had never made her feel this way before, she wanted to feel Emma everywhere, she craved her touch, and Emma wanted so desperately to oblige, to feel every inch of Regina's soft skin, to take her, taste her. They were so absorbed in their desire for each other that they didn't hear the knock at the door.

"Regina, are you still here?" The two women sprang apart as the doorknob turned. Regina smoothed down her hair and skirt and glanced up at the door.

"Dean Gold." She managed, her face burning red. She kept her eyes focused straight ahead, not daring to chance a glance at Emma, who was busying herself with the papers on the floor in front of them. "How can I help you?" She continued, making her way to her feet. The dean eyed her curiously before continuing.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt." He said with a raised brow.

"Not at all. Emma and I were just going over some things for my book." She said a little shakily.

"Would you like me to give the two of you a moment, Dean Gold?" Emma offered.

"Yes please, Ms. Swan." He replied. Emma stood up and let herself out of Regina's office, Regina eyes followed her back as she walked out the door. Once it clicked into place she turned to Dean Gold with her best attempt at a smile.

"So, what brings you here so late, Dean Gold?"

"Professor Wallace has pneumonia. I need his classes covered for the next few weeks. Professor Thomas has agreed to take his Wednesday classes, Hanforth is covering his Thursdays and I need someone to cover his Fridays."

"Dean Gold, Fridays are my only days off to work on the book, they've moved the deadline forward and I'm trying to get everything done but I'm drowning. I'm barely staying on top of everything as it is, can't you ask Amelia?" She begged.

"I have but Professor Stanton has three young infants to care for and her husband works Fridays. I'm sorry Professor Mills but I'm out of options here. My hands are tied."

"Christ." Regina groaned, rubbing her forehead.

"I'll email you his class times tomorrow morning. Goodnight, Regina."

"Goodnight." Regina replied defeatedly, leaning onto her desk and running a hand through her hair. There was no way she'd be able to get the book finished on time if she had to pick up extra classes on a Friday. Emma let herself back into the office after the Dean made his way out. The look on Regina's face told her that whatever the Dean had to say wasn't good.

"Are you alright, Regina?" Emma asked carefully.

"Not really, Miss Swan." Regina sighed, looking up at her.

"What happened?"

"Wallace is out sick and I have to cover his Friday classes." She replied, pulling the bottle of apple cider out of her her desk drawer and pouring herself another generous glass.

"Shit." Emma stated, knowing that Fridays were her only day to work on the book.

"Shit doesn't even begin to cover it." Regina said sarcastically, taking a few large gulps. She put down the glass and eyed Emma, who was watching her tentatively, as if she wanted to say something but was holding back. They stared at each other for a few moments before Regina spoke quietly.

"I think you should go now."

Hurt flashed across Emma's face before she nodded solemnly and began to gather her things. Once all her things were put away she headed for the door. Regina watched as her hand extended to the handle, then paused. The blonde turned around slowly.

"Look, I know you think you have to face all this stuff on your own, but you don't. I'm here for you Regina. In any way you need me to be." She said simply. Regina's heart couldn't help but warm a little and she let a small smile tug at her lips.

"I know. Goodnight, Emma."

"Goodnight, Regina." Emma smiled, letting herself out.

* * *

 **MAKE ME FEEL GOOD ABOUT MYSELF PLEASE GUYS.**


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